# Accident 19990820013129A: Mooney M20E, Las Vegas, NV, August 20, 1999 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: August 20, 1999, 12:27 local time - Place: Las Vegas, NV - Damage: Destroyed - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 36.2092° N, 115.2100° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=36.2092&lon=-115.2100&mi=10 - Aircraft: N2654W, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N2654W-2013-10-23) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Mooney M20E (registry code 5870212, https://openairdocs.org/model/mooney-m20e) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: Lycoming I0360 series (registry code 41515, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-i0360-series) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: MOONEY M20E - People aboard: 2 - Fatal injuries: 2 - NTSB investigation: [NTSB LAX99FA275](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX99FA275) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19990820013129A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. ACFT WAS ON APPROACH FOR RWY 12 WHEN IT CRASHED INTO A HOUSE AND WAS DESTROYED BY FIRE, 2 POB SUFFERED FATAL INJURIES, 1 POB HAS SERIOUS INJURIES, OTHER CIRCUMSTANCES ARE UNKNOWN. (-23) MOONEY N2654W, WAS INSTRUCTED TO LAND ON RUNWAY 12 BY VGT TOWER. N2654W APPEARED TO BE LINED UP TO LAND ON RUNWAY 07 IN LIEU OF THE INSTRUCTED RWY 12. AT THIS TIME A SUGGESTED HEADING OF 300 DEGREES WAS ASSIGNED BY ATC, IN ORDER TO MODIFY, OR CORRECT THE DOWNWIND ENTRY FOR N2654W. DURING THE TURNING MANUEVER, OR HEADING CHANGE, THE PILOT OF THE MOONEY APPARENTLY LOST CONTROL OF HIS A/C CAUSING A STALL/SPIN SITUATION, WHICH ULTIMATELY LED TO A FATAL CRASH LANDING WITHIN THE FRONT YARD AND HOME LOCATED AT 3265 SISK ST. (.19) ON AUGUST 20, 1999, ABOUT 1201 HOURS PACIFIC DAYLIGHT TIME, A MOONEY M20E, N2654W, WAS DESTROYED WHEN IT COLLIDED WITH TREES AND A RESIDENCE IN LAS VEGAS, NEVADA. THE PRIVATE PILOT/ OWNER OPERATED THE PERSONAL FLIGHT UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF 14 CFR PART 91. THE PILOT AND ONE PASSENGER SUSTAINED FATAL INJURIES; ANOTHER PASSENGER SUSTAINED SERIOUS INJURIES. THE FLIG HT DEPARTED RENO, NEVADA, ABOUT 0920 ON A VFR FLIGHT PLAN. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED. COORDINATES OF THE WRECKAGE WERE 36 13.112 NORTH LATITUDE AND 115 14.163 WEST LONGITUDE. THE LOCAL CONTROLLER AT THE NORTH LAS VEGAS AIRPORT AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL TOWER (ATCT) STATED THE PILOT WAS CLEARED INTO THE TRAFFIC PATTERN FOR RIGHT DOWNWIND TRAFFIC RUNWAY 12. THE TOWER CHIEF SAID THE CONTROLLER THOUGHT THE PILOT WAS SETTING UP FOR RUNWAY 7 AND INSTRUCTED HIM TO FOLLOW TRAFFIC AHEAD FOR RUNWAY 12. THE PILOT ACKNOWLEDGED THE TRAFFIC AND NO FURTHER COMMUNICATION WAS RECEIVED FROM THE AIRPLANE. THE CONTROLLER LOOKED AWAY, AND WHEN HE LOOKED BACK AT THE MOONEY HE SAW EXAGGERATED WING ROCKING AS THE AIRPLANE DESCENDED. A WITNESS ON THE GROUND REPORTED THE AIRPLANE WAS LEVEL BETWEEN 500 AND 1,000 FEET ABOVE THE GROUND. THIS WITNESS STATED THE AIRPLANE ROLLED TWICE, AND LOST ALTITUDE WITH EACH ROLL. THE WINGS LEVELED AT 100 FEET AS IT DESCENDED INTO A RESIDENTIAL AREA. THIS WAS FOLLOWED BY AN EXPLOSION AND FIREBALL. THE PASSENGER IN THE RIGHT FRONT SEAT WAS ABLE TO EXIT THE AIRPLANE AND SUSTAINED BURNS ON HIS LEGS, ARMS, AND FACE. FIREFIGHTERS RESPONDED AND REPORTED A STR ONG SMELL OF FUEL ON SCENE AND EXTINGUISHED TWO FLARE-UPS FROM A POOL OF LIQUID UNDER THE WRECKAGE. FIRST EVIDENCE OF CONTACT (IPC) WAS A TREE IN THE FRONT YARD OF THE RESIDENCE. IT DISPLAYED SCARS ON THE TRUNK AND LIMBS BETWEEN 15 AND 25 FEET ABOVE THE GROUND. TREE BRANCHES AND GREEN NEEDLES WERE ON THE GROUND FROM THE BASE OF THE TRUNK TO THE AIRPLANE. GREEN NEEDLES WERE STUCK IN EXTERNAL APPENDAGES ON THE RIGHT WING OF THE AIRPLANE. SIX FEET OF THE OUTBOARD RIGHT WING AND THE RIGHT AILERON WERE 25 FEET FROM THE IPC ON A BEARING OF 110 DEGREES. THIS OUTBOARD SECTION HAD A CYLINDRICAL IMPRINT IN ITS LEADING EDGE THAT WAS ABOUT 16 INCHES IN DIAMETER. THE RIGHT AILERON COUNTERWEIGHT WAS 200 FEET FROM THE IPC ON A BEARING OF 110 DEGREES. THE REST OF THE AIRPLANE WAS 60 FEET FROM THE IPC ON A BEARING OF 205 DEGREES; THE FUSELAGE WAS HEADING 260 DEGREES. THE PROPELLER AND NOSE OF THE AIRPLANE WERE IMBEDDED IN THE WALL OF A HOUSE. TWO PALM TREES, EACH ABOUT 1-FOOT IN DIAMETER, WERE ON THE GROUND UNDER THE FUSELAGE. PART OF THE INVERTED AND PARTIALLY SEPARATED LEFT WING WAS WRAPPED HALF WAY AROUND ONE OF THE PALMS. NO FUEL WAS OBSERVED IN THE RIGHT TANK; THE LEFT TANK BURNED. DURING EXAMINATION OF THE WRECKAGE ON-SCENE, THE MANUAL LANDING GEAR HANDLE WAS OBSERVED LOCKED IN THE GEAR DOWN POSITION. THE RIGHT MAIN LANDING GEAR WAS DOWN; THE NOSE GEAR WAS EXPOSED BUT CRUSHED AFT. THE LEFT WING FRACTURED AND SEPARATED IN THE AREA OF THE LEFT MAIN GEAR. THE LEFT MAIN WAS PARTIALLY DETACHED AND ROTATED 90 DEGREES INBOARD FROM THE NORMAL DOWN POSITION. THE PILOT'S SEAT BELT WAS BUCKLED BUT THE WEBBING BURNED THROUGH. THE REAR PASSENGER'S SEAT BELT WAS STILL BUCKLED AND ATTACHED TO THE AIRFRAME, THE WEBBING WAS NOT COMPROMISED. DURING A POSTACCIDENT EXAMINATION OF THE WRECKAGE, CONTROL CONTINUITY WAS ESTABLISHED FOR ALL FLIGHT CONTROLS. ALL OF THE TORQUE RODS WERE CONNECTED AT EACH END. TWO RODS FRACTURED WITH AN IRREGULAR AND ANGULAR FRACTURE SURFACE, THE OTHER TUBES WERE BENT OR BUCKLED. BOTH PROPELLER BLADES EXHIBITED LEADING EDGE GOUGES AND CHORDWISE SCRATCHES. THE ENGINE ROTATED FREELY AND THE VALVES MOVED IN SEQUENCE. THUMB COMPRESSION WAS OBTAINED FOR ALL CYLINDERS. BOTH MAGNETOS WERE REMOVED AND SPARKED ON EACH TERMINAL WHEN MANUALLY ROTATED. THE SPARK PLUGS WERE ELLIPTICAL BUT EXHIBITED NO MECHANICAL DEFORMATION. THE ENGINE DRIVEN FUEL PUMP OPERATED MANUALLY AND THE DIAPHRAGM WAS UNDAMAGED. THE INLET LINE TO THE FUEL INJECTION SERVO WAS DISPLACED AFT AT THE ATTACH FITTING. THE SERVO'S INTERNAL SCREEN WAS CLEAN BUT FRACTURED AT THE ATTACH FITTING. THE FUEL NOZZLES WERE CLEAR, AND THE DIAPHRAGM IN THE FUEL MANIFOLD DISTRIBUTION VALVE WAS PLIANT AND UNDAMAGED. ## 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 LAX99FA275](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX99FA275), Aug 20, 1999: Mooney M20E (N2654W), Las Vegas, NV, substantial damage, 2 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot's steep turn at low altitude that resulted in an accelerated stall while in the landing configuration, leading to a loss of control and subsequent ground impact. ## Other reports on N2654W (2) Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date. - [Incident 19880709043399I](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19880709043399I), Jul 9, 1988: Mooney M20E (N2654W), Cedar City, UT, Minor damage. Found nose wheel assembly missing on landing. Wheel not found at vgt or cdc. Cause of wheel missing is unknown. - [Incident 19820912052319I](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19820912052319I), Sep 12, 1982: Mooney M20E (N2654W), Oakland, CA, Minor damage. Landing gear collapsed on takeoff roll. Pulled mixture to abort takeoff. 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.