Mooney M20F accident near Fort Collins, CO
On August 29, 1998, a Mooney M20F (airplane) was involved in an accident near Fort Collins, CO. 2 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- August 29, 1998
- Place
- Fort Collins, CO
- Aircraft
- Mooney M20F · Airplane
- Injuries
- 2 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 40.591°N, 105.129°W
- NTSB ID
- 20001211X10837
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On August 29, 1998, approximately 1555 mountain daylight time, a Mooney M20F, N377X, was destroyed following impact with terrain while turning onto the base leg in the traffic pattern at Fort Collins Downtown Airpark, Fort Collins, Colorado. The commercial pilot and his pilot-rated passenger were fatally injured. The airplane was owned/operated by the pilot under Title 14 CFR Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the personal cross-country flight which originated from Chadron, Nebraska, approximately 70 minutes before the accident. No flight plan had been filed. According to witnesses, the pilot had left that morning to visit relatives at several locations, and the last city was Chadron, Nebraska. According to a witness in Chadron, the pilot had his fuel tanks "topped-off" with 100LL (14 gallons) before his departure back to Fort Collins (his homeport airport for the last 30 years). Two witnesses flying in the traffic pattern for runway 11 (elevation 4,935 feet, density altitude 7,844 feet) reported hearing a Mooney calling for Fort Collins airport advisories twice, but gave no position report (Fort Collins unicom did not respond). The two witnesses were flying on downwind in a Piper Cub at approximately 650 feet agl when they observed a Mooney "over the Budweiser brewery flying directly at them at a high rate of speed with the [landing] gear up." The one witness in the back seat of the Piper Cub reported that the airplane entered the traffic pattern behind them and approximately 200 feet below them. This witness performed a right 360 deg
Probable cause
The pilot's inadvertent stall/mush due to his excessive angle of bank during his traffic pattern turn to base. Factors were the pilot's improper downwind altitude, the pilot not properly setting his Kollsman Window in his altimeter, and the high density altitude.
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Browse: Colorado · 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.
