# Accident 19980205002399A: Mooney M20E, Taos, NM, February 5, 1998

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: February 5, 1998, 16:29 local time
- Place: Taos, NM
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Scud Running
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 36.3901° N, 105.2706° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=36.3901&lon=-105.2706&mi=10
- Aircraft: N9213M, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N9213M-1998-11-16) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Mooney M20E (registry code 5870212, https://openairdocs.org/model/mooney-m20e) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: MOONEY M20E
- Reported engine: LYC IO360A1A
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 1
- Pilot flight hours: 1,245 total, 15 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB FTW98FA121](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW98FA121) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19980205002399A

## Narrative

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

ON FEBRUARY 5, 1998, AT 1629 MOUNTAIN STANDARD TIME, A MOONEY M20E, N9213M, OWNED AND OPERATED BY THE PILOT, WAS DESTROYED WHEN IT IMPACTED MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN WHILE IN CRUISE FLIGHT 10 MILES SOUTH-SOUTHEAST OF TAOS, NEW MEXICO. THE PRIVATE PILOT AND ONE OF HIS TWO DOGS, DUKE, WAS FATALLY INJURED. THE OTHER DOG, JAKE, WAS SERIOUSLY INJURED AND HAD TO BE DESTROYED. INSTRUMETN METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS REPORTEDLY WERE FORECAST IN THE AREA, AND NO FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED FOR THE PERSONAL FLIGHT BEING CONDUCTED UNDER TITLE 14 CFR PART 91. THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED AT SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO, AT 1558. ACCORDING TO FAMILY MEMBERS, THE PILOT, GORDON VENEKLASEN, WAS TRAVELING TO ANGLE FIRE TO PICK UP HIS SON,^PRIVACY ^FROM THERE THEY PLANNED TO FLY TO TEXAS TO GO QUAIL HUNTING. ACCOMPANYING MR. VENEKLASEN WERE HIS TWO DOGS, JAKE AND DUKE. THERE IS NO RECORD OF HIM OBTAINING A WEATHER BRIEFING TO FILING A FLIGHT PLAN FOR THE 60 MILE FLIGHT TO ANGEL FIRE. WHEN THE AIRPLANE FAILED TO ARRIVE, AN ALNOT (ALERT NOTICE) WAS ISSURES AT 2126. THE WRECKAGE WAS LOCATED BY A NEW MEXICO STATE POLICE HELICOPTER PILOT A 1020 ON FEBRUARY 8, 1998, AT THE 10700 FOOT LEVEL OF RITO QUIOEN SABA, PART OF THE SANGRE DE CRISTO MOUNTAIN RANGE, AT 36 DEGREES, 15.81 MINUTES NORTH LATITUDE AND 105 DEGREES 24.866 MINUTES WEST LONGITUDE. SEARCH AND RESCUE PERSONNEL REPORTED THAT A WITNESS,^PRIVACY D^ HAD SEEN A LOW WING AIRPLANE "FLYING IN AND OUT OF THE CLOUD BOTTOMS" SHORTLY BEFORE THE ESTIMATED TIME OF THE ACCIDENT. (-23) ON FEBRUARY 5, 1998, APPROXIMATELY 1630 MOUNTAIN STANDARD TIME, A MOONEY M20E, N9213M, OWNED AND OPERATED BY THE PILOT, WAS DESTROYED WHEN IT IMPACTED MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN WHILE IN CRUISE FLIGHT 10 MILES SOUTH-SOUTHEAST OF TAOS, NEW MEXICO. THE PRIVATE PILOT AND ONE OF HIS TWO DOGS WAS FATALLY INJURED.  THE OTHER DOG WAS SERIOUSLY INJURED AND HAD TO BE DESTROYED.  INSTRUMENT METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS REPORTEDLY WERE FORECAST IN THE AREA, AND NO FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED FOR THE PERSONAL FLIGHT BEING CONDUCTED UNDER TITLE 14 CFR PART 91. THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED AT SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO, AT 1558.

## 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 FTW98FA121](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW98FA121), Feb 5, 1998: Mooney M20E (N9213M), Angel Fire, NM, destroyed, 1 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot attempting VFR flight into instrument meteorological conditions and his lack of an instrument rating. Factors were weather conditions that included mountain wave activity conducive to…

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.

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