Mooney M20R accident near Bluffton, SC
On February 4, 2001, a Mooney M20R (airplane) was involved in an accident near Bluffton, SC. 2 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- February 4, 2001
- Place
- Bluffton, SC
- Aircraft
- Mooney M20R · Airplane
- Injuries
- 2 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 32.297°N, 80.937°W
- NTSB ID
- 20010209X00432
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On February 4, 2001, about 1318 eastern standard time, a Mooney M-20R, N88FJ, registered to FHJ Aviation Inc., and operated by a private individual, as a Title 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight, crashed in Bluffton, South Carolina. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed, and an instrument flight rules flight plan was filed. The private-rated pilot and one passenger received fatal injuries, and the aircraft was destroyed. The flight originated from Savannah, Georgia, the same day, about 1309. Several witnesses on highway SC170 at the time of the accident, reported not seeing the initial impact, but said that as they were in their motor vehicles on the highway, they saw a wall of fire extending about 40 feet in the air, along with scattered and burning debris. They further stated that they heard a corresponding "swooshing" sound, as a fireball of burning debris crossed the four-lane highway. One witness said that upon seeing the debris he stopped his vehicle, somehow concluding that it could only have been an aircraft that had crashed, and he went in to the wooded areas to see if he could offer any assistance. A witness who was inside his house at the time of the accident said that he heard the aircraft pass overhead, and the engine sounded as if it was operating normally, and another witness stated that she was outside the house on the porch, and she heard, as well as saw the accident aircraft, at a very low altitude prior to its impact. She said that as the aircraft was descending, one wing was low as if it was in a turn, just prior to it impacting, a
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to maintain control due to spatial disorientation.
More accidents in SC
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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.
