Mooney M20M accident near Victoria, MN
On August 7, 2021, a Mooney M20M (airplane) was involved in an accident near Victoria, MN. 3 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- August 7, 2021
- Place
- Victoria, MN
- Aircraft
- Mooney M20M · Airplane
- Injuries
- 3 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 44.859°N, 93.663°W
- NTSB ID
- 20210807103651
Official records · CEN21FA360
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
Air traffic control records
- Fcm Tower Frequency - NTSB Review Of FAA Replay: Document (PDF), on ntsb.gov
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn August 7, 2021, about 1740 central daylight time, a Mooney M20M airplane, N9156Z, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Victoria, Minnesota. The private pilot and two passengers (one of whom was a student pilot) sustained fatal injuries. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. A review of automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) information revealed that the airplane departed Chandler Field Airport (AXN), Alexandria, Minnesota, about 1654 on an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan and climbed to 5,000 ft mean sea level (msl) while en route to Flying Cloud Airport (FCM), Minneapolis, Minnesota. After the pilot descended the airplane to 3,000 ft msl, he was cleared to fly the instrument landing system (ILS) approach to runway 10R at FCM. At 1738:39, the pilot contacted the FCM tower controller and stated, “Mooney 56 Zulu…ah…with you.” The pilot did not respond, so the controller repeated the clearance; the pilot did not respond to this transmission as well. About 10 miles from the runway while on final approach, the airplane tracked left of the ILS course and descended below 2,700 ft msl. At 1739:22, the controller again provided the landing clearance, to which the pilot stated, “ah 56 Zulu.” The airplane then made a right turn back toward the approach course and continued to descend, which triggered a low-altitude alert to the FCM tower controller. The controller transmitted the low-altitude alert to the pilot, which he acknowledged. No further transmissions were received
Probable cause
The pilot’s loss of airplane control due to spatial disorientation during final approach, which led to a spiral dive that overstressed the airplane and resulted in an in-flight breakup.
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Browse: Minnesota · 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.
