Mooney M20E accident near Colorado Springs, CO

On December 22, 2010, a Mooney M20E (airplane) was involved in an accident near Colorado Springs, CO. 2 people died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.

Date

December 22, 2010

Place

Colorado Springs, CO

Aircraft

Mooney M20E · Airplane

Injuries

2 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor

Damage

Substantial

Position

38.815°N, 104.684°W

NTSB ID

20101222X54546

Official records · CEN11FA124

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

Air traffic control records

• ATC Transcripts - RAP: Transcript (PDF), on ntsb.gov
• ATC Transcripts - COS: Transcript (PDF), on ntsb.gov

NTSB summary

HISTORY OF FLIGHT On December 22, 2010, at 1159 mountain standard time, a Mooney M20E airplane, N79869, impacted terrain following a missed approach to City of Colorado Springs Municipal Airport (COS), Colorado Springs, Colorado. The commercial pilot and one passenger were fatally injured. The personal flight was being conducted under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 with an Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) flight plan. Instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) prevailed at the time of the accident. The cross-country flight departed Rapid City Regional Airport (RAP), Rapid City, South Dakota, at 0917 and was en route to COS. The pilot contacted COS approach control at 1138 and was told to expect the Instrument Landing System (ILS) approach to Runway 17L. At 1147, N79869 was cleared for the ILS 17L approach and the pilot acknowledge the clearance. Prior to the approach clearance and then once during the approach, the controller advised of two pilot reports. An MD 80 had experienced light clear ice in the clouds after departure and a CRJ had experienced light rime ice in the clouds after departure. At 1150, N79869 was cleared to land and the pilot acknowledged the clearance. At 1152:47, the pilot reported “VFR on top” and at 1153:29, reported entering clouds at 8,500 feet mean sea level (MSL). At 1158:24, the pilot report going missed approach, stating that he could not see the runway environment at 6,400 feet. The controller directed the pilot to fly runway heading and the pilot acknowledged. No further voice communications were recorded from the accide

Probable cause

The pilot’s decision to initiate an approach into weather conditions where the ceiling and visibility were below the minimums for the approach and where reported icing existed, in an airplane not certified for flight in icing conditions, and his failure to maintain control of the airplane during the missed approach.

More accidents in CO

• Mcdonnell Douglas DC-9-14, Nov 15, 1987
• Grumman Gulfstream III, Mar 30, 2001
• Beech 1900, Jan 28, 2026
• Douglas DC3, Mar 9, 2019
• Piper PA-31-350, Dec 3, 2014

Browse: Colorado · Mooney aircraft

See it on the map

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