Mooney M20F accident near Norfolk, VA

On March 4, 2015, a Mooney M20F (airplane) was involved in an accident near Norfolk, VA. 3 people died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.

Date

March 4, 2015

Place

Norfolk, VA

Aircraft

Mooney M20F · Airplane

Injuries

3 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor

Damage

Substantial

Position

36.910°N, 76.196°W

NTSB ID

20150304X81814

Official records · ERA15FA144

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

Air traffic control records

• Flight Service Briefing (Audio, MP3 Format): Document (PDF), on ntsb.gov
• ATC Radio Communication Transcripts: Transcript (PDF), on ntsb.gov
• ATC Radio Communications (Audio, MP3 Format): Document (PDF), on ntsb.gov

NTSB summary

HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn March 4, 2015, about 0413 eastern standard time, a Mooney M20F, N66BB, was substantially damaged when it impacted trees and terrain while conducting an instrument approach to Norfolk International Airport (ORF), Norfolk, Virginia. The private pilot and two passengers were fatally injured. The personal flight was conducted under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91. Dark night instrument meteorological conditions prevailed, and an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan was filed and active for the flight, which originated from Palatka Municipal Airport (28J), Palatka, Florida, about 2353 on the preceding day. According to the owner of the airplane, the pilot and two friends had borrowed the airplane and departed from its home base of Suffolk Executive Airport (SFQ), Suffolk, Virginia on February 25. The group flew to Key West International Airport (EYW), Key West, Florida. At 1916 on the evening of March 3, the pilot contacted Flight Service to file two IFR flight plans for the return trip to SFQ. The first flight plan requested GPS-direct routing from EYW to 28J, and the second requested GPS-direct routing from 28J to the Brunswick, Georgia (SSI) VOR and then direct to SFQ. For the flight to SFQ, the pilot declared a planned departure time of 2300, an estimated time en route of 3 hours 30 minutes, and an estimated 5 hours of fuel onboard. He did not specify an alternate destination airport. When asked if he would like a standard weather briefing, the pilot declined, stating that he would like the NOTAMS at 28J and SFQ. After

Probable cause

The pilot's failure to properly execute the instrument approach procedure. Contributing to the accident were the pilot's improper preflight planning and his decision to conduct the flight in instrument meteorological conditions at night into forecast moderate turbulence and with inadequate avionics equipment for the planned flight.

More accidents in VA

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Browse: Virginia · 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.