# Accident 19970811021369A: Mooney M20F, Tallahassee, FL, August 11, 1997

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: August 11, 1997, 01:25 local time
- Place: Tallahassee, FL
- Airport: Tallahassee Regionall Airport
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Fcd/Prec Ldg From Cruise
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 30.3896° N, 84.5102° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=30.3896&lon=-84.5102&mi=10
- Aircraft: N3455X, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N3455X-2013-05-03) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Mooney M20F (registry code 5870214, https://openairdocs.org/model/mooney-m20f) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: MOONEY M20F
- Reported engine: LYC IO360A1A
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 2
- Pilot flight hours: 945 total, 29 in this make and model, 263 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB ATL97FA115](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ATL97FA115) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19970811021369A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

LOST POWER NIGHT ENROUTE. CRASH LANDED IN TREES SHORT OF EMERGENCY AIRPORT. TLH. CRANKSHAFT HAD BROKEN. (-23) THE STUDENT PILOT AND FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR WAS ON A CROSS COUNTRY FLIGHT FROM NEW ORLEANS, LA TO TAMPA, FL. AT APPROX. 0120 AM AT 5,000 FT. AND APPROX. 15 NM WEST OF TLH REGIONAL AIRPORT, THEY ENCOUNTERED ENGINE PROBLEMS. AT APPROX. 0124 AM THE AIRPLANE CRASHED IN A DENSELY WOODED AREA APPROX. 1 MILE FROM THE TLH REGIONAL AIRPORT. THE STUDENT PILOT AND FLIGHT INSTRUTOR WERE FATALLY INJURED. THE AIRPLANE WAS DESTROYED BY A POST CRASH FIRE.

## 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 ATL97FA115](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ATL97FA115), Aug 11, 1997: Mooney M20F (N3455X), Tallahassee, FL, destroyed, 2 fatal. Probable cause: fatigue failure of the crankshaft for undetermined reasons. Related factors were: darkness, and obstructions (trees) in the emergency landing area.

## Other reports on N3455X (1)

Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.

- [Accident 19840220003979A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19840220003979A), Feb 20, 1984: Mooney M20F (N3455X), Defuniak Spring, FL, Substantial damage. Collided with the ground after the engine quit due to fuel starvation. Fuel selector on empty tank. Other was full.

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.