Mooney M20J accident near Ranchita, CA
On February 4, 2007, a Mooney M20J (airplane) was involved in an accident near Ranchita, CA. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- February 4, 2007
- Place
- Ranchita, CA
- Aircraft
- Mooney M20J · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 33.171°N, 116.424°W
- NTSB ID
- 20070214X00192
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On February 3, 2007, at 1838 Pacific standard time, a Mooney M20J, N201RV, impacted mountainous terrain in the Anza Borrego Desert State Park near Ranchita, California. The owner/pilot was operating the airplane under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91. The private pilot, the sole occupant, was killed; the airplane was substantially damaged. The cross-country personal flight departed Montgomery Field Airport (MYF), San Diego, California, about 1815, with a planned destination of Borrego Springs, California (L08). Visual night meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed. The wife of the pilot reported that her husband had departed MYF to fly to their vacation home in Borrego Springs. Typically, he would call her before he departed from MYF. She would then drive to the airport (L08) and pick him up. On the night of the accident, while she waited past his anticipated arrival time, she watched the moon rise. Up until that point, the sky had been very dark. At 1930, she contacted the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and filed a concerned alert notice (ALNOT). The FAA issued an ALNOT at 2130. The Civil Air Patrol and San Diego County Sheriff's Department began a search, and located the wreckage about 0100 on February 4, 2007. The National Transportation Safety Board investigator-in-charge (IIC) reviewed recorded radar data, and noted a secondary 1200 (VFR) beacon code at a mode C reported altitude of 300 feet mean sea level (msl) departing from MYF at 1815:52. The ensuing 1200 beacon code radar target return matched the projected fl
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to maintain terrain clearance during a cruise descent. Contributing to the accident were the dark night lighting conditions and the mountainous terrain.
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Browse: California · 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.
