# Accident 20000730012089A: Mooney M20E, Jackpot, NV, July 30, 2000

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: July 30, 2000, 00:00 local time
- Place: Jackpot, NV
- Airport: Jackpot Airport
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: To Init Climb(1st Pwr Reduct)
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 41.9822° N, 114.6636° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=41.9822&lon=-114.6636&mi=10
- Aircraft: N5853Q, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N5853Q-2000-10-03) (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: 2
- Fatal injuries: 2
- Pilot flight hours: 2,070 total, 60 in this make and model, 5 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB LAX00FA283](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX00FA283) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20000730012089A

## Narrative

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

(-23) AIRCRAFT STRUCK GROUND APPROX. 1/4 MILE FROM AIPORT DURING A NIGHT TAKE OFF. (.4) HISTORY OF FLIGHT: ON JULY 30, 2000, ABOUT 2400 HOURS MOUNTAIN DAYLIGHT TIME, A MOONEY M20E, N5853Q, COLLIDED WITH TERRAIN ABOUT 1 MINUTE AFTER DEPARTURE FROM JACKPOT, NEVADA. THE PRIVATE PILOT/OWNER WAS OPERATING THE AIRPLANE UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF 14 CFR PART 91. THE PILOT AND THE ONE PASSENGER SUSTAINED FATAL INJURIES; THE AIRPLANE WAS DESTROYED. THE PERSONAL FLIGHT WAS DEPARTING JACKPOT EN ROUTE TO ITS HOME FIELD OF JEROME, IDAHO, ABOUT 48 NAUTICAL MILES NORTH OF JACKPOT. NIGHT VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AND NO FLIGHT PLAN HAD BEEN FILED. A WITNESS AT A CASINO ABOUT 2 MILES AWAY OBSERVED THE AIRPLANE DEPART RUNWAY 15 AND, FROM HIS ANGLE, IT APPEARED TO CLIMB ABOVE LIGHTS ON TOP OF A MOUNTAIN. HE WATCHED THE PLANE TURN LEFT TOWARD THE EAST, AND SEVERAL SECONDS LATER THE AIRPLANE BEGAN TO LOSE ALTITUDE. THE AIRPLANE DISAPPEARED FROM SIGHT; THEN HE HEARD THE ENGINE RPM INCREASE FOLLOWED BY A "CRASH SOUND." THE FIRST IDENTIFIED POINT OF GROUND CONTACT WAS AT 41 DEGREES 58.297 WEST LATITUDE AND 114 DEGREES 38.883                                                                    MINUTES NORTH LONGITUDE. A SAFETY BOARD COMPUTER PROGRAM DETERMINED THIS WAS 0.52 MILES FROM THE AIRPORT ON A MAGNETIC BEARING OF 105 DEGREES. A SUN AND MOON PROGRAM DETERMINED THERE WAS ZERO PERCENT ILLUMINATION OF THE MOON.

## 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 LAX00FA283](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX00FA283), Jul 30, 2000: Mooney M20E (N5853Q), Jackpot, NV, destroyed, 2 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot inadvertently became lost/disoriented during initial climb and collided with terrain. A related factor was the dark night.

## Other reports on N5853Q (2)

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

- [Incident 19871225079749I](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19871225079749I), Dec 25, 1987: Mooney M20E (N5853Q), Lincoln, CA, Minor damage. Landing gear collapsed on landing rollout. Cause undetermined.
- [Accident 19810824051219A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19810824051219A), Aug 24, 1981: Mooney M20E (N5853Q), San Andreas, CA, Substantial damage. Aircraft ran off end of runway during landing. Pilot claims loss of brakes.

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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