Mooney M20J accident near Lander, WY

On October 25, 2010, a Mooney M20J (airplane) was involved in an accident near Lander, WY. 4 people died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.

Date

October 25, 2010

Place

Lander, WY

Aircraft

Mooney M20J · Airplane

Injuries

4 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor

Damage

Substantial

Position

43.162°N, 109.560°W

NTSB ID

20101102X13215

Official records · WPR11FA032

• Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation

Air traffic control records

• ATC 3 - Factual Report of Group Chairman: Document (PDF), on ntsb.gov
• Air Traffic Control Communications Transcript: Transcript (PDF), on ntsb.gov
• Air Traffic Control Event Synopsis: Document (PDF), on ntsb.gov
• FAA Controller's Flight Strip: Document (PDF), on ntsb.gov
• ATC 3 - Geyser Departure Procedure: Document (PDF), on ntsb.gov

NTSB summary

HISTORY OF FLIGHT On the afternoon of November 1, 2010, the wreckage of a Mooney M20J, N201HF, was located by ground searchers in the Wind River mountain range near Lander, Wyoming. The airplane became the subject of a week-long search after it was lost from ground-based radio communications and radar tracking facilities about 45 minutes after it departed from Jackson Hole Airport (JAC), Jackson, Wyoming, on October 25, 2010. The instrument rated owner/pilot and his three sons were fatally injured. The four had flown from the Minneapolis, Minnesota, area to JAC on October 21, 2010, and the accident flight was the first leg of the return trip to Minnesota. The personal flight was operated under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91, on an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan. According to information from Lockheed Martin Flight Services (LMFS) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), on the morning of the accident, the pilot obtained his initial telephone weather briefing about 0918 mountain daylight time. About 1037, he telephoned again, obtained an abbreviated weather briefing, and filed an IFR flight plan. Both weather briefings included AIRMETs (Airmen's Meteorological Information) for mountain obscuration, turbulence, and icing along the planned flight routes and altitudes. The 1037 flight plan specified a planned departure time of 1130, and a destination of Rapid City Regional Airport, (RAP) Rapid City, South Dakota. The filed route of flight was Dunoir (DNW) very high frequency omni-range (VOR) navigation facility, Boysen Rese

Probable cause

The pilot's decision to depart into known adverse weather conditions over mountainous terrain, which required operation near the limits of the airplane's performance capability and which resulted in a loss of airplane control and subsequent ground impact. Contributing to the accident was an improper clearance issued by the air traffic controller and the pilot's acceptance of that clearance. Also c

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Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.