Mooney M20J accident near Falmouth, MA
On December 2, 2022, a Mooney M20J (airplane) was involved in an accident near Falmouth, MA. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- December 2, 2022
- Place
- Falmouth, MA
- Aircraft
- Mooney M20J · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 1 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 41.588°N, 70.537°W
- NTSB ID
- 20221203106405
Official records · ERA23FA077
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn December 2, 2022, about 1504 eastern standard time, a Mooney M20J, N3515H, sustained substantial damage when it was involved in an accident at Falmouth Airpark (5B6), Falmouth, Massachusetts. The private pilot was fatally injured, and the pilot-rated passenger received serious injuries. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. According to a friend of the pilot, earlier that day, he and three other aircraft, including the accident airplane, flew from 5B6 to Westfield-Barnes Regional Airport (BAF), Westfield/Springfield, Massachusetts, for lunch. He reported that, after having lunch, they all returned to 5B6. Before landing, he heard a female voice making radio calls from the accident airplane. She made an announcement as they were entering the downwind leg of the airport traffic pattern and then onto the final leg for runway 25. He continued his approach and while on short final, he spotted the crashed airplane at the approach end of runway 25. In an interview with the pilot-rated passenger, she remembered flying to BAF, and said that the flight was uneventful. She was not pilot-in-command at the time of the accident but was double-checking everything during the flight. She reported that the sun was “blinding” during the approach to runway 25, but there was enough wind that they did not feel comfortable landing on runway 7. While on short final, she adjusted the pilot’s sun visor, looked down to check that the airplane was configured for landing, and when she looked up, she knew that the airplane was go
Probable cause
The pilot’s failure to maintain clearance from trees during the landing approach. Contributing to the accident was the sun glare, which impaired the pilot's visibility and situational awareness.
More accidents in MA
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Browse: Massachusetts · 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.
