19801108063719A

Accident · Destroyed

FAA accident report · Mooney M20K · Grand Junction, CO · November 8, 1980

Date
November 8, 1980 · 21:30 local
Place
Grand Junction, CO
Airport
Walker
Phase of flight
Descent
Operating rules
General operating rules (Part 91)
Damage
Destroyed
Aircraft
N231GP
NTSB investigation
NTSBDEN81FA010
Reported as
Mooney M20K
People aboard
3
Fatal injuries
3
Pilot’s flight hours
265 total89 in this make and model9 in the last 90 days

From the FAA’s Accident/Incident Data System (AIDS), through its Aviation Safety Information Portal, as reported. The NTSB investigates accidents separately, and its record of an accident is the fuller one. The aircraft is matched to the registry by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

What happened

The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.

Investigation indicates pilot lost ground reference at night and crashed approaching airport for landing.

As the FAA filed it

INVESTIGATION INDICATES PILOT LOST GROUND REFERENCE AT NIGHT AND CRASHED APPROACHING AIRPORT FOR LANDING.

NTSB investigation

The NTSB’s investigation of this event, with its probable cause and findings. Matched to this report by N-number and date.