Mooney M20J accident near Holmen, WI

On July 28, 2016, a Mooney M20J (airplane) was involved in an accident near Holmen, WI. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.

Date

July 28, 2016

Place

Holmen, WI

Aircraft

Mooney M20J · Airplane

Injuries

1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor

Damage

Destroyed

Position

43.979°N, 91.214°W

NTSB ID

20160801X04321

Official records · CEN16FA295

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

Air traffic control records

• ATC/Radar Recording (Shelf Item): Document (PDF), on ntsb.gov
• ATC Transcripts: Transcript (PDF), on ntsb.gov

NTSB summary

HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn July 28, 2016, about 1138 central daylight time, a Mooney M20J, N54PM, impacted terrain near Holmen, Wisconsin, while being vectored for an instrument approach to runway 18 at La Crosse Regional Airport (LSE), La Crosse, Wisconsin. The commercial pilot sustained fatal injuries, and the airplane was destroyed by impact forces. The airplane was registered to and operated by the pilot under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91 as a personal flight that was operating on an instrument flight rules flight plan. Day instrument meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The flight originated from Willmar Municipal Airport-John L Rice Field (BDH), Willmar, Minnesota, at 1024 and was destined for LSE. A friend of the pilot stated that the pilot planned the flight a "few weeks" earlier. The friend reported that the pilot was going to pick him up at LSE and that they were going to fly to Appleton, Wisconsin, to buy tickets for the Oshkosh air show and then fly to Oshkosh, Wisconsin. The friend said that he received a text message from the pilot at 1013 stating that he was ready for takeoff from BDH and would be in the air in about 10 minutes. According to the friend, the flight departed at 1024. He stated that, according to Flightaware, the flight was to land at 1137. Minneapolis Center provided radar vectors to the pilot for the final approach course for the instrument landing system (ILS) runway 18 approach and then was instructed to contact LSE Air Traffic Control Tower (ATCT). The pilot contacted LSE ATCT and reported that the

Probable cause

The pilot's loss of airplane control during an instrument approach. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's lack of instrument flight proficiency.

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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.