Mooney M20E accident near San Antonio, TX

On February 26, 2012, a Mooney M20E (airplane) was involved in an accident near San Antonio, TX. 2 people died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.

Date

February 26, 2012

Place

San Antonio, TX

Aircraft

Mooney M20E · Airplane

Injuries

2 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor

Damage

Substantial

Position

29.321°N, 98.460°W

NTSB ID

20120226X01048

Official records · CEN12FA170

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

Air traffic control records

• ATC - Specialist's Report: Document (PDF), on ntsb.gov
• ATC - Attachment 1 - NTSB Timeline: Document (PDF), on ntsb.gov
• ATC - Attachment 2 - Radar Plot: Document (PDF), on ntsb.gov
• ATC - Attachment 3 - Radar Plot: Document (PDF), on ntsb.gov
• ATC - Radar Data (Tabular Data): Document (CSV), on ntsb.gov

NTSB summary

HISTORY OF FLIGHT On February 26, 2012, about 1709 central standard time, a Mooney M20E airplane, N9224M, impacted terrain during initial climb after departure from Stinson Municipal Airport (SSF), San Antonio, Texas. The certified flight instructor (CFI) and the pilot were fatally injured. The airplane was substantially damaged. The airplane was registered to and operated by Niclan Corporation, under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a positioning flight. Day visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The flight departed SSF at 1707, and was destined for Gillespie County Airport (T82), Fredericksburg, Texas. The pilot was cleared for takeoff to the southeast from runway 14 with instructions to turn left to the northeast because of traffic approaching the airport from the south. After takeoff, when the airplane was about 200 feet above ground level (agl), the SSF tower controller noticed the airplane in a right turn and again instructed the pilot to make a left turn to the northeast. An incomplete radio comment from the pilot indicated he was turning back. The controller saw the airplane flying southwest bound at a low altitude and shortly thereafter saw a cloud of black smoke about 1/2 mile south of SSF. One witness was watching the airplane while it was turning to the right. He saw the wing of the airplane then suddenly roll sharply to the right and the airplane pointed about 45 degrees nose-down and the airplane went into a dive. A second witness heard sputtering, looked up and saw the airplane as it banked to one s

Probable cause

The pilot's inadvertent overboost of the turbocharged engine during initial climb, which resulted in detonation and a partial loss of engine power followed by the pilot's failure to maintain airspeed and the instructor's delayed remedial action, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall. Contributing to the accident was the instructor's improper judgment in acting as a pilot with disqualifying medica

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Browse: Texas · Mooney aircraft

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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.