Mooney M20C accident near Natchez, MS
On July 30, 2005, a Mooney M20C (airplane) was involved in an accident near Natchez, MS. 3 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- July 30, 2005
- Place
- Natchez, MS
- Aircraft
- Mooney M20C · Airplane
- Injuries
- 3 fatal, 1 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 31.612°N, 91.298°W
- NTSB ID
- 20050805X01164
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On July 30, 2005, about 1045 central daylight time, a Mooney M20C, N6555U, was destroyed when it impacted terrain following a loss of control during takeoff initial climb from runway 31 at the Hardy-Anders Field Natchez-Adams County Airport, Natchez, Mississippi. The private pilot and two passengers were fatally injured. One passenger received serious injuries. The airplane was registered to a private individual and operated by the pilot. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the Title 14 CFR Part 91 personal cross country flight. The flight was originating at the time of the accident, and the intended destination was Wichita Falls, Texas. The pilot flew the accident airplane from Kickapoo Downtown Airport, Wichita Falls, Texas, to Natchez, Mississippi, with two passengers on board. During a 45-minute stop at the Natchez airport, the airplane was fueled with 39 gallons of 100 LL avgas, which filled the tanks. A third passenger was picked up and the flight departed for the return trip to Wichita Falls. A witness, an employee of the airport, stated that he watched the accident airplane as it took off from runway 31. The airplane climbed to about 100 feet before it banked left with the engine sounding normal. "All of a sudden," the nose of the airplane pitched down. He knew something was wrong and expedited toward a vehicle to reach the crash site. A pilot witness was standing in front of the airport office building as the accident airplane was taking off. He stated that the airplane "started a normal looking departure an
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed during the initial climb after takeoff, which resulted in an inadvertent stall and subsequent uncontrolled descent to ground impact. A contributing factor was the pilot's lack of experience in complex airplanes.
More accidents in MS
- Beech A36TC, May 16, 2016
- Cessna 336, Sep 15, 2004
- Piper PA-24-180, May 8, 1999
- Beech A36, Dec 3, 1983
- Eurocopter Deutschland Gmbh EC 135 P2+, Mar 10, 2025
Browse: Mississippi · 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.
