Mooney M20E accident near Jackpot, NV
On July 30, 2000, a Mooney M20E (airplane) was involved in an accident near Jackpot, NV. 2 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- July 30, 2000
- Place
- Jackpot, NV
- Aircraft
- Mooney M20E · Airplane
- Injuries
- 2 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 41.982°N, 114.664°W
- NTSB ID
- 20001212X21493
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On July 30, 2000, about 2400 hours mountain daylight time, a Mooney M20E, N5853Q, collided with terrain about 1 minute after departure from Jackpot, Nevada. The private pilot/owner was operating the airplane under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91. The pilot and the one passenger sustained fatal injuries; the airplane was destroyed. The personal flight was departing Jackpot en route to its home field of Jerome, Idaho, about 48 nautical miles north of Jackpot. Night visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan had been filed. A witness at a Casino about 2 miles away observed the airplane depart runway 15 and, from his angle, it appeared to climb above lights on top of a mountain. He watched the plane turn left toward the east, and several seconds later the airplane began to lose altitude. The airplane disappeared from sight; then he heard the engine rpm increase followed by a "crash sound." The first identified point of ground contact was at 41 degrees 58.297 west latitude and 114 degrees 38.883 minutes north longitude. A Safety Board computer program determined this was 0.52 miles from the airport on a magnetic bearing of 105 degrees. A sun and moon program determined there was zero percent illumination of the moon. PERSONNEL INFORMATION A review of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) airman records revealed the pilot held a private pilot certificate with an airplane single engine land rating. A third-class medical certificate with the limitation "must have glasses for near vision" was issued on June 14, 2000. The pilot's insurance carrie
Probable cause
The pilot inadvertently became lost/disoriented during initial climb and collided with terrain. A related factor was the dark night.
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Browse: Nevada · 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.
