Mooney M20J accident near Cape May, NJ
On May 29, 2019, a Mooney M20J (airplane) was involved in an accident near Cape May, NJ. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- May 29, 2019
- Place
- Cape May, NJ
- Aircraft
- Mooney M20J · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 38.926°N, 74.943°W
- NTSB ID
- 20190529X50112
Official records · ERA19FA184
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn May 29, 2019, at 1115 eastern daylight time, a Mooney M20J, N201DG, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Cape May, New Jersey. The commercial pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. In a written statement, a witness described seeing the airplane flying parallel to the beach about 10 ft above the water. He stated that it appeared "stable and in control but then dipped, hit the water, and skipped up out of control." The airplane entered a steep climb to around 100 to 200 ft above the water, “stalled, turned downward, and plunged almost straight into the water." The witness estimated the pitch-up attitude of the airplane after it contacted the water at 65° to 70° and its nose-down attitude at 75° to 80° during the descent. A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) aviation safety inspector stated that reports of a low-flying airplane travelling along the beach from north to south were received from several towns north of Cape May. Witnesses reported that the airplane would dive to the surface, fly low along the beach, and climb again. One witness forwarded a video of the airplane as it passed her position on Diamond Beach, about 5 miles, or about 2.5 minutes, north of the accident site. The airplane was near the shoreline, about 10 ft above the wave break, and the sound of the engine was smooth and continuous throughout. At one point, the airplane descended below the horizon line. About 20 seconds into the 30-second video, the airplane began a steep climb. The ai
Probable cause
The pilot's intentional flight into water as an act of suicide.
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Browse: New Jersey · Mooney aircraft
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
