Mooney M20E accident near Cedar City, UT
On May 3, 1999, a Mooney M20E (airplane) was involved in an accident near Cedar City, UT. 3 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- May 3, 1999
- Place
- Cedar City, UT
- Aircraft
- Mooney M20E · Airplane
- Injuries
- 3 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 37.590°N, 113.190°W
- NTSB ID
- 20001212X18738
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On May 3, 1999, at 1451 mountain daylight time, a Mooney M20E, N5594Q, was destroyed during a forced landing near Cedar City Regional Airport, Cedar City, Utah. The instrument rated commercial pilot, the instrument rated private pilot passenger, and the non-pilot passenger were all fatally injured. The airplane was being operated by the pilot under Title 14 CFR Part 91. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed for the personal cross-country flight which originated from Boulder, Colorado, with a stop in Nucla, Colorado (total airborne time was approximately 4 hours and 57 minutes). The pilot was on an IFR clearance at the time of the accident. According to FAA records, the pilot and the pilot certificated passenger each contacted Direct User Access Terminal System (DUATS) five separate times to receive weather reports and file a visual flight rules (VFR) flight plan for the flight. The Denver Automated Flight Service Station (AFSS) records indicate the pilot departed Boulder Municipal Airport at 0908, and requested that his flight plan be activated. The next transmission from the pilot was at 1015, as N5594Q was passing through Monarch Pass. The FAA controller advised the pilot that VFR flight was not recommended due to mountain obscuration, icing, and turbulence. FAA records indicate that at 1122 the pilot telephoned Denver AFSS saying that he had landed at Nucla, Colorado, due to weather, and would they close his VFR flight plan. A witness at Hopkins Field at Nucla, Colorado, reported that the pilot approached her and wanted to purchase fuel for his
Probable cause
The pilot's inadequate fuel consumption calculations. Factors were the loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion and the obscuring weather conditions.
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Browse: Utah · 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.
