Mooney M-20E accident near Pickens, SC
On June 22, 1998, a Mooney M-20E (airplane) was involved in an accident near Pickens, SC. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- June 22, 1998
- Place
- Pickens, SC
- Aircraft
- Mooney M-20E · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 2 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 34.879°N, 82.700°W
- NTSB ID
- 20001211X10378
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On June 22, 1998, about 1100 eastern daylight time, a Mooney M-20E, N2709W, registered to a private individual, operating as a 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight, crashed while attempting a forced landing following a loss of engine power near Pickens, South Carolina. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and a visual flight rules flight plan had been filed. The airplane was destroyed, the private-rated pilot sustained fatal injuries, and two passengers received minor injuries. The flight originated from Greenville, South Carolina, about 1030 of the same day. According to the pilot's husband, the pilot and her two children, a boy, age 16 and a girl, age 14, were returning home to Morristown, Tennessee, after spending a holiday weekend with the pilot's father. The husband stated that the pilot telephoned him after her arrival in Greenville, to inform him about the flight. She had mentioned that the flight was uneventful except that she could not get boost from the turbocharger. He remembered telling her to check the waste gate lever control or its control cable movement. He added that he had been teaching her the operation of the "Smart Scanner" EGT/CHT analyzer that had been installed in the Mooney. According to the two survivors in subsequent statements, they both confirmed the engine was sputtering and that their mother said the engine failed. When their mother requested from the radar controller the nearest airport, and was given Pickens County, the daughter, the right front seat occupant, said she and her mother kept trying but could not get the "Q" of
Probable cause
A loss of engine power for undetermined reasons and the pilot not maintaining adequate clearance with objects (trees) during the emergency landing. Contributing factors were the pilot's impairment associated with the use of an antihistamine and the trees.
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Browse: South Carolina · 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.
