# Accident 19980107000139A: Mooney M20K, Vernon, TX, January 7, 1998 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: January 7, 1998, 11:50 local time - Place: Vernon, TX - Damage: Destroyed - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 34.1472° N, 99.2609° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=34.1472&lon=-99.2609&mi=10 - Aircraft: N231DS, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N231DS-1998-08-28) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Mooney M20K (registry code 5870220, https://openairdocs.org/model/mooney-m20k) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: MOONEY M20K - NTSB investigation: [NTSB FTW98FA088](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW98FA088) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19980107000139A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. ACFT CRASHED UND UNK CIRCUM, PILOT AND ONE PASSENGER SUFFERED FATAL INJ, VERNON, TX. (-23) ON JANUARY 7, 1998, AT 11:50 A.M., A MOONEY-20-K OWNED AND OPERATED BY DAVID R. JACK, CRASHED AFTER DESCENDING FROM CRUISE ALTITUDE. IMC FLIGHT CONDITIONS PREVAILED AND IMC FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED. THE AIRCRAFT WAS DEMOLISHED AND BOTH PILOT AND PASSENGER WERE FATALLY INJURED. THE PILOT HELD A COMMERCIAL CERTIFICATE AND INSTRUMENT RATINGS, CERTIFICATE NO. 471365777. THEFLIGHT ORIGINATED AT SAN MARCOS, TEXAS, ON JANUARY 7, 1998, AT 10:00 A.M. LOCAL. THIS CASE IS CLOSED. (.19) ON JANUARY 7, 1998, APPROXIMATELY 1150 CENTRAL STANDARD TIME, A MOONEY M20K AIRPLANE, N231DS, REGISTERED TO AND OPERATED BY THE PILOT, IMPACTED THE GROUND FOLLOWING AN UNCONTROLLED DESCENT APPROXIMATELY 8 MILES NORTHWEST OF VERNON, TEXAS. THE AIRCRAFT WAS DESTROYED BY IMPACT FORCES AND BOTH OCCUPANTS, THE COMMERCIAL RATED PILOT AND 1 PASSENGER, WERE FATALLY INJURED. AN INSTRUMENT FLIGHT RULES (IFR) FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED AND INSTRUMENT METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED IN THE VICINITY OF THE ACCIDENT. THE TIT LE 14 CFR PART 91 PERSONAL CROSS COUNTRY FLIGHT HAD ORIGINATED FROM SAN MARCOS MUNICIPAL AIRPORT, SAN MARCOS, TEXAS, APPROXIMATELY 1000 AND WAS EN ROUTE TO GARDEN CITY, KANSAS, FOR A SCHEDULED REFUELING STOP. THE AIRCRAFT'S INTENDED FINAL DESTINATION WAS ANDOVER, MINNESOTA. THE AIRCRAFT'S CRUISING ALTITUDE EN ROUTE FROM SAN MARCOS WAS 12,000 FEET MSL AS IDENTIFIED BY POSITIVE RADAR RETURNS FROM FORT WORTH CENTER. APPROXIMATELY 1145 THE PILOT REQUESTED A DESCENT TO 10,000 FEET AND WAS GIVEN THE CLEARANCE TO DESCEND BY CENTER. AFTER THE PILOT ACKNOWLEDGED THE CLEARANCE, BOTH RADAR RETURNS, AND VOICE COMMUNICATIONS FROM THE AIRCRAFT WERE LOST. THE LAST REPORTED RADAR POSITION OF THE AIRCRAFT WAS NEAR THE HOBART 193 DEGREE RADIAL AT 40 NAUTICAL MILES. IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE LOST CONTACT, FORT WORTH CENTER ISSUED AN ALNOT (MISSING AIRCRAFT) MESSAGE. THE ALNOT REMAINED IN EFFECT UNTIL AIRCRAFT WRECKAGE, IDENTIFIED AS N231DS, WAS FOUND BY A SEARCH AND RESCUE HELICOPTER. SEVERAL AURAL WITNESSES, LOCATED ABOUT 1 1/2 MILES FROM THE FOG OBSCURED ACCIDENT SITE, REPORTED HEARING A VERY LOUD ENGINE NOISE FOLLOWED BY SILENCE AT ABOUT 1150. SEVERAL PEOPLE LIVING IN THE VICINITY OF THE ACCIDE NT REPORTED THE WEATHER TO BE FOGGY, WITH FREEZING RAIN, ICE PELLETS, AND LOW CLOUDS. THE AIRCRAFT WAS WITHIN THE BOUNDARIES OF A CURRENT AIRMET WHICH CITED RIME ICING IN CLOUDS BELOW 8,000 FEET. NO DISTRESS CALLS WERE HEARD FROM THE AIRCRAFT. ## 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 FTW98FA088](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW98FA088), Jan 7, 1998: Mooney M20K (N231DS), Vernon, TX, destroyed, 2 fatal. Probable cause: the loss of control during cruise flight for undetermined reasons. ## Other reports on N231DS (1) Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date. - [Incident 19810915073349I](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19810915073349I), Sep 15, 1981: Mooney M20K (N231DS), St Petersburg, FL, Minor damage. After landing rollout aircraft porpoised, nose gear broke, then left gear broke. No evidence of previous damage. 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.