# Accident 20020917025012A: Mooney M20E, Carlsbad, CA, September 17, 2002 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: September 17, 2002, 13:00 local time - Place: Carlsbad, CA - Airport: Mcclellan-Palomar - Damage: Destroyed - Collision: Midair collision, second aircraft - Phase of flight: In Traffic Pattern-Circling - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 33.1283° N, 117.2803° W: From the FAA - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=33.1283&lon=-117.2803&mi=10 - Aircraft: N7199U, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N7199U-2005-01-27) (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 - Fatal injuries: 0 - Pilot flight hours: 0 total, 0 in this make and model, 0 in the last 90 days - NTSB investigation: [NTSB LAX02FA288](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX02FA288) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20020917025012A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. (.19) ON SEPTEMBER 17, 2002, ABOUT 1300 PACIFIC DAYLIGHT TIME, A MOONEY M-20E, N7199U, COLLIDED IN MIDAIR WITH A BEECH BE-76 DUCHESS, N1828A, ABOUT 1 MILE NORTHWEST OF MCCLELLAN-PALOMAR FIELD, CARLSBAD, CALIFORNIA. THE PRIVATE/PILOT OWNER WAS OPERATING THE MOONEY UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF 14 CFR PART 91. THE PILOT, THE SOLE OCCUPANT, SUSTAINED FATAL INJURIES; THE AIRPLANE WAS DESTROYED. THE PERSONAL CROSS-COUNTRY FLIGHT DEPARTED FRESNO, CALIFORNIA, AT AN UNDETERMINED TIME EN ROUTE TO PALOMAR. PINNACLE AVIATION SERVICES, INC., WAS OPERATING THE BEECH UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF 14 CFR PART 91. THE CERTIFIED FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR PILOT AND COMMERCIAL PILOT UNDERGOING MULTIENGINE INSTRUCTION SUSTAINED FATAL INJURIES; THE AIRPLANE WAS DESTROYED. THE LOCAL TRAINING FLIGHT DEPARTED PALOMAR AT 1258. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED, AND NO FLIGHT PLANS HAD BEEN FILED. THE PRIMARY WRECKAGE OF THE MOONEY WAS AT 33 DEGREES 06.525 MINUTES NORTH LATITUDE AND 116 DEGREES 43.288 MINUTES WEST LONGITUDE. THE PRIMARY WRECKAGE OF THE BEECH WAS AT 33 DEGREES 06.525 MINUTES NORTH LATITUDE AND 116 DEGREES 43.288 MINUTES WEST LONGITUDE. AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL TOWER (ATCT) PERSONNEL AT PALOMAR REPORTED THATTHE MOONEY CHECKED IN AT 1255 AND REPORTED 10 MILES NORTH OVER OCEANSIDE, CALIFORNIA. AT 1258, THE CONTROLLER CLEARED THE BEECH FOR A RIGHT CROSSWIND DEPARTURE ON RUNWAY 24. ABOUT 1300, THE CONTROLLER MADE A CONTINUOUS TRANSMISSION THAT TOLD THE MOONEY THAT A DUCHESS WAS ON A RIGHT CROSSWIND DEPARTURE, AND TOLD THE DUCHESS THAT A MOONEY WAS INBOUND ON THE FORTY-FIVE. THERE WAS NO REPLY FROM EITHER AIRPLANE. ONE WITNESS OBSERVED THE MOONEY, WHICH WAS LIGHT BROWN IN COLOR WITH DARK BROWN ACCENTS, BANK TO THE RIGHT IMMEDIATELY PRIOR TO IMPACT. WITNESSES REPORTED THAT THE TWO AIRPLANES MERGED AND THEN THEY SAW A PUFF OF WHITE SMOKE. A PIECE OF WING FELL FROM THE MOONEY, WHICH IMMEDIATELY WENT INTO A NOSEDIVE. THE BEECH, WHICH WAS WHITE WITH BLUE ACCENTS, BANKED LEFT AND MAINTAINED THAT ATTITUDE FOR A FEW SECONDS. TO SOME WITNESSES THE BANK ANGLE APPROACHED 90 DEGREES, WHILE TO OTHERS IT APPEARED TO GO TO AN INVERTED POSITION. THEN THE AIRPLANE'S NOSE DOWN ATTITUDE BEGAN TO STEEPEN UNTIL IT NOSED VERTICALLY INTO THE GROUND. A 4-FOOT SECTION OF THE MOONEY'S LEFT WING TIP CAME TO REST IN A FIELD AT 33 DEGREES 08.27 MINUTES NORTH LATITUDE 117 DEGREES 18.096 MINUTES WEST LONGITUDE. ABOUT 3 FEET OF THE BEECH'S LEFT WING TIP CAME TO REST AT 33 DEGREES 08.32 MINUTES NORTH LATITUDE 117 DEGREES 18.08 MINUTES WEST LONGITUDE. THE WING TIP WAS SLASHED IN TWO AREAS THAT WERE 19 INCHES APART. THE OUTBOARD SLASH WAS THROUGH THE BOTTOM SKIN OF THE WING BEGINNING AT THE LANDING LIGHT AND CONTINUED AFT TO THE REAR SPAR. THE INBOARD SLASH WENT THROUGH THE BOTTOM WING SKIN NEAR THE LEADING EDGE AND CONTINUED AFT THROUGH BOTH THE UPPER AND LOWER SURFACES OF THE LEFT AILERON. THE SLASH MARKS ANGLED ABOUT 80 DEGREES TO THE LATERAL AXIS OF THE AIRPLANE. A PIECE OF THE LEFT WING LOCATED WITH THE MAIN WRECKAGE HAD LIGHT BROWN PAINT TRANSFER MARKS THAT WERE SIMILAR IN COLOR TO THE MOONEY. THE OUTBOARD FLAP HINGE BENT INBOARD, FRACTURED, AND SEPARATED. THE FLAP HINGE AND THE LOWER WING SKIN ADJACENT TO IT HAD LIGHT BROWN PAINT TRANSFER MARKS THAT WERE SIMILAR IN COLOR TO THE MOONEY. THE INBOARD FLAP HINGE BENT INBOARD AND HAD LIGHT BROWN PAINT TRANSFER MARKS THAT WERE SIMILAR IN COLOR TO THE MOONEY. THE OUTBOARD SECTION OF THE LEFT ELEVATOR HAD TWO SLASH MARKS, WHICH WERE ABOUT 19 INCHES APART. THESE MARKS WERE ABOUT 80 DEGREES TO THE LATERAL AXIS OF THE AIRPLANE. THE MOONEY CAME TO REST ON THE SIDE OF A RAVINE. THE EMPENNAGE WAS VERTICAL TO THE HORIZON. THE PROPELLER BLADES HAD LEADING EDGE GOUGES AND WHITE PAINT TRANSFER MARKS. THE OUTBOARD, LEADING EDGE OF THE HORIZONTAL STABILIZER WAS CRUSHED UP AND AFT. THE PAINT ON THE TOP SURFACE OF THE HORIZONTAL STABILIZER WAS CHIPPED, SCRATCHED, AND GOUGED. THE METAL SKIN IN THE CHIPPED PAINT AREAS CONTAINED BLUE PAINT MARKS. (-23) DURING ENTRY TO DOWNWIND LEG FOR LANDING AT KCRQ AIRPLANE COLLIDED WITH ANOTHER AIRCRAFT TURNING DOWNWIND LEG FOR DEPARTURE. ## Other aircraft in the event - N1828A, Beech 76: [Accident 20020917025011A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20020917025011A) ## 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 LAX02FA288](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX02FA288), Sep 17, 2002: Mooney M-20E (N7199U), Carlsbad, CA, destroyed, 3 fatal. Probable cause: failure of the pilots of both airplanes to maintain an adequate visual lookout and to see and avoid each other. A contributing factor was the failure of the controller to detect and resolve the… 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.