# Accident 19961101034599A: Mooney M20J, Houston, TX, November 1, 1996 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: November 1, 1996, 16:50 local time - Place: Houston, TX - Airport: Ellington Field Airport - Damage: Destroyed - Phase of flight: Practice Training Manuevers - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 29.4504° N, 95.0596° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=29.4504&lon=-95.0596&mi=10 - Aircraft: N25LS, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N25LS-2000-10-04) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Mooney M20J (registry code 5870219, https://openairdocs.org/model/mooney-m20j) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: MOONEY M20J - Reported engine: LYC IO360A1B6 - People aboard: 1 - Fatal injuries: 1 - Pilot flight hours: 283 total, 2 in this make and model, 2 in the last 90 days - NTSB investigation: [NTSB FTW97FA032](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW97FA032) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19961101034599A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. WITNESS OBSERVED PLANE IN A SPIN. IMPACTED WATER NEAR VERTICAL. NO RECORD SPIN TRAINING. ONLY 2HRS IN TYPE. (-23) THE MOONEY AIRCRAFT DEPARTED EFD VFR APPROXIMATELY 1630 AND PROCEEDED SOUTH TO THE PRACTICE AREA. AN EYEWITNESS OBSERVED THE AIRCRAFT SPINNING EARTHWARD. THE AIRCRAFT IMPACTED THE WATER AT A STEEP ANGLE. THE AIRCRAFT WAS DESTROYED AND THE SOLE OCCUPANT WAS FATALLY INJURED. NTSB IS INVESTIGATING. (.19) ON NOVEMBER 1, 1996, AT 1650 CENTRAL STANDARD TIME, A MOONEY M20J, N25LS, REGISTERED TO H AND L AIR SERVICES, INC., OF HOUSTON, TEXAS , AND OPERATED BY ELLINGTON FIELD AERO CLUB, INC., AS A TITLE 14 CFR PART 91 FLIGHT, IMPACTED THE WATER DURING AN UNCONTROLLED DESCENT NEAR SAN LEON, TEXAS. THE PRIVATE PILOT RECEIVED FATAL INJURIES AND THE AIRPLANE SUSTAINED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED; HOWEVER, FRONTAL PASSAGE WITH A WIND SHIFT AND GUSTS WAS OCCURRING. A FLIGHT PLAN WAS NOT FILED FOR THE PERSONAL CROSS COUNTRY FLIGHT. THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED FROM HOUSTON, TEXAS, ABOUT 20 MINUTES BEFORE THE ACCIDENT. DURING PERSONAL INTERVIEWS, C ONDUCTED BY THE INVESTIGATOR-IN-CHARGE AND THE FAA INSPECTOR, THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION WAS GLEANED FROM LOCAL AUTHORITIES, WITNESSES, AND THE OPERATOR. ON OCTOBER 15, 1996, THE PILOT RECEIVED AN AERO CLUB FLIGHT CHECK IN THE AIRPLANE, AND RENTED THE AIRPLANE FOR 2 HOURS ON NOVEMBER 1, 1996, FOR A FLIGHT TO GALVESTON, TEXAS. ABOUT 20 MINUTES BEFORE THE ACCIDENT, THUNDERSTORMS AND RAIN ASSOCIATED WITH A FRONTAL PASSAGE, MOVED THROUGH THE DICKINSON BAY AREA NEAR SAN LEON; HOWEVER, THE WEATHER WAS REPORTED CLEAR WITH OVERCAST SKIES ESTIMATED AT 2,000 TO 3,000 FEET BY THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT. TWO WITNESSES OBSERVED THE AIRPLANE IN LEVEL FLIGHT BENEATH THE CLOUDS, ONE WITNESS OBSERVED THE AIRPLANE DESCENDING AND ANOTHER WITNESS REPORTED OBSERVING THE AIRPLANE CIRCLE TOWARD THE BAY. ONE WITNESS OBSERVED THE AIRPLANE INA 3 TO 4 TURN SPIN BEFORE IMPACTING THE WATER AND EXPLODING WITH FLAMES AND BLACK SMOKE ERUPTING FOR 200 TO 300 FEET INTO THE AIR. THE FIRE CONTINUED TO BURN ON THE WATER FOR SEVERAL MINUTES AND NUMEROUS WITNESSES DESCRIBED THE FIRE AS THE TYPE ASSOCIATED WITH A PIPELINE RUPTURE. DIVERS FROM THE TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION (DPS) REPORTED THE AIRPLANE CAME TO REST IN6 TO 8 FEET OF WATER. THE AFT PORTION OF THE EMPENNAGE PROTRUDED FROM THE WATER, THE ENGINE REMAINED ATTACHED TO THE FIREWALL, AND THE RIGHT WING WAS ATTACHED AT THE FUSELAGE. THE LEFT WING WAS FOUND SEPARATED FROM THE FUSELAGE AT THE AFT ATTACHMENT POINT. ## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1) From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. - [NTSB FTW97FA032](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW97FA032), Nov 1, 1996: Mooney M20J (N25LS), San Leon, TX, substantial damage, 1 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot's inadvertent stall and spin of the airplane. Factors were the pilot's lack of total experience in the make and model of airplane and the weather conditions. From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft 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. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.