Mooney M20J accident near Tower, MI
On March 10, 2003, a Mooney M20J (airplane) was involved in an accident near Tower, MI. 2 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- March 10, 2003
- Place
- Tower, MI
- Aircraft
- Mooney M20J · Airplane
- Injuries
- 2 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 45.353°N, 84.344°W
- NTSB ID
- 20030318X00354
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On March 9, 2003, around 2036 eastern standard time, a Mooney M20J, N201ZM, piloted by a commercial pilot, was destroyed during an in-flight collision with terrain near Tower, Michigan. The airplane was operating at night in instrument meteorological conditions. The personal flight was operating under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91 while on an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan. The pilot and his passenger were fatally injured. The flight departed the Oakland County International Airport (PTK), Pontiac, Michigan, at 1906. The pilot contacted the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Lansing Automated Flight Service Station (AFSS) at 1713 to obtain a weather briefing and file an IFR flight plan from PTK to Cheboygan County Airport (SLH), Cheboygan, Michigan. The briefer asked the pilot if he was planning on a visual flight rules (VFR) flight. The pilot replied, "No, I would like to go IFR and have you guys kind of watching me." The subsequent weather briefing included a synopsis of the current conditions, the forecast for the planned destination and for the Detroit area, an advisory for moderate turbulence below 8,000 feet mean sea level (msl), and the operational status of a military operations area. After the weather briefing the pilot filed an IFR flight plan from PTK to SLH. At 1956:32 (hhmm:ss), the pilot established radio communications with Minneapolis Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC) and reported being level at 6,000 feet msl. At 2006:29, the pilot asked the controller, "yeah, um I can't see...the wingt
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control during cruise flight. A factor to the accident was the clouds and night conditions.
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Browse: Michigan · 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.
