Mooney M20J accident near Palo Alto, CA

On September 4, 2018, a Mooney M20J (airplane) was involved in an accident near Palo Alto, CA. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.

Date

September 4, 2018

Place

Palo Alto, CA

Aircraft

Mooney M20J · Airplane

Injuries

1 fatal, 1 serious, 1 minor

Damage

Substantial

Position

37.458°N, 122.109°W

NTSB ID

20180904X52324

Official records · WPR18FA251

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

Air traffic control records

• Record Of Communication Guerrieri: Document (PDF), on ntsb.gov
• Record Of Communication First Responder: Document (PDF), on ntsb.gov
• Atct Communications Transcript: Transcript (PDF), on ntsb.gov
• Record Of Communication - Angel Flight West: Document (PDF), on ntsb.gov

NTSB summary

HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn September 4, 2018, about 1100 Pacific daylight time, a Mooney M20J airplane, N701JM, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident in Palo Alto, California. The pilot was fatally injured. One passenger received serious injuries, and the other passenger received minor injuries. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The pilot and airplane were based at Placerville Airport (PVF), Placerville, CA. The purpose of the flight was to perform an Angel Flight and fly a patient from the Redding Municipal Airport (RDD), Redding, California to the Palo Alto Airport (PAO). On the day of the accident, the airplane arrived at RDD about 0900 to pick up the patient and her mother. Surveillance camera imagery at RDD indicated that the two passengers boarded, and that the airplane departed the RDD ramp about 0924. About 7 minutes before landing at PAO, the pilot contacted the PAO air traffic control tower. The controller instructed the pilot to enter a left base for runway 13. About 10 seconds later, the controller instructed the pilot to "fly to KGO," a charted visual flight rules (VFR) checkpoint and waypoint, and then enter the left base. The pilot responded that he was unfamiliar with KGO. The controller guided the pilot to KGO, and then instructed the pilot to fly to a second charted VFR checkpoint. About 3 minutes later, the pilot reported that he was having difficulty locating the airport; the controller advised him to turn to a heading that would nearly place the airplane on the final approach co

Probable cause

The pilot’s failure to maintain aircraft control during a go-around due to his premature flap retraction, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and subsequent loss of control.

More accidents in CA

• Douglas MD-83, Feb 1, 2000
• Mcdonnell Douglas DC-9-32, Aug 31, 1986
• British Aerospace BAE-146-200, Dec 8, 1987
• Beech C-99, Aug 24, 1984
• Sikorsky S-61N, Aug 6, 2008

Browse: California · 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.