19870304007809A

Accident · Destroyed

FAA accident report · Mooney M20J · Weed, CA · March 4, 1987

Date
March 4, 1987 · 15:56 local
Place
Weed, CA
Phase of flight
Normal Cruise
Operating rules
General operating rules (Part 91)
Damage
Destroyed
Aircraft
N201LF
NTSB investigation
NTSBLAX87FA134
Reported as
Mooney M20J
Reported engine
Lycoming IO360A3B6
People aboard
1
Fatal injuries
1
Pilot’s flight hours
2,300 total

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.

Proceeded into area of known severe turbulence. Crash vertically on mountainside. Airframe was distorted in flight.

As the FAA filed it

PROCEEDED INTO AREA OF KNOWN SEVERE TURBULENCE. CRASH VERTICALLY ON MOUNTAINSIDE. AIRFRAME WAS DISTORTED IN FLIGHT.

NTSB investigation

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