Mooney M20A accident near Canyon Creek, MT
On June 7, 1998, a Mooney M20A (airplane) was involved in an accident near Canyon Creek, MT. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- June 7, 1998
- Place
- Canyon Creek, MT
- Aircraft
- Mooney M20A · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 46.871°N, 112.319°W
- NTSB ID
- 20001211X10414
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On June 7, 1998, approximately 0945 Mountain daylight time, a Mooney M20A, N1048B, registered to and operated by the pilot as a 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight was destroyed when it broke up while in flight over Canyon Creek, Montana. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed at the time and a visual flight rules flight plan was filed. The private pilot, the sole occupant, was fatally injured. The flight had originated from Lewiston, Idaho, about three hours and forty-five minutes before the accident, and was en route to Great Falls, Montana. The pilot had just purchased the aircraft and was in the process of flying the aircraft back to his home in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Radar data provided by the Salt Lake City Air Route Traffic Control Center, Salt Lake City, Utah, indicates that the aircraft was flying in a northerly direction between 13,200 feet and 14,500 feet, ten minutes before the accident. The last two radar targets at 14,300 feet and 13,700 feet indicate that the flight path deviated to the east and then southeast before the radar target was lost. The wreckage was located south of the last radar target at an elevation of approximately 5,100 feet. PERSONNEL INFORMATION At the time of the accident, the pilot held a private pilot certificate for single-engine land airplanes. The certificate was issued on July 7, 1997. The pilot's flight logbook indicates that a total flight time of 153 hours had been accumulated, with 130 hours as pilot-in-command. The logbook indicates that a majority of the flight time was in a Cessna 152 (85 hours), and in
Probable cause
The design stress limits of the aircraft was exceeded. The pilot's inadequate preflight planning/preparation, lack of an instrument rating, poor weather evaluation and low ceilings and mountain obscuration were factors.
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Browse: Montana · Mooney aircraft
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
