# Accident 20031228033009A: Mooney M20F, Campobello, SC, December 28, 2003

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: December 28, 2003, 13:10 local time
- Place: Campobello, SC
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Low Level Operations
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 35.1806° N, 82.0639° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=35.1806&lon=-82.0639&mi=10
- Aircraft: N2996L, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N2996L-2014-09-29) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Mooney M20F (registry code 5870214, https://openairdocs.org/model/mooney-m20f) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming I0360 series (registry code 41515, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-i0360-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: MOONEY M20F
- Reported engine: LYC IO360LYC*
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 1
- Pilot flight hours: 3,770 total
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB ATL04FA061](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ATL04FA061) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20031228033009A

## Narrative

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

(-23) ON DECEMBER 28, 2003 AT 1310 EASTERN STANDARD TIME A MOONEY-20-F, N2996L, REGISTERED TO A PRIVATE OWNER, OPERATED BY A FRIEND, AS A CFR PART 91 PERSONAL FLIGHT, COLLIDED WITH TREES AND THE GROUND WHILE MANEUVERING IN THE VICINITY OF CAMPOBELLO, SOUTH CAROLINA. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AND NO FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED. THE AIRPLANE WAS DESTROYED AND THE COMMERCIAL PILOT WAS FATALLY INJURED. THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED FROM PETERSBURG, OHIO (OH29), ON DECEMBER 28, 2003 AT 1015. WITNESSES STATED THEY HEARD AN AIRPLANE APPROACHING THEIR LOCATION. THEY LOOKED UP AND OBSERVED AN AIRPLANE FLYING TO THE NORTH BETWEEN 100 TO 200 FEET ABOVE THE TREES. THE ENGINE REVVED UP IN POWER, DECREASED IN POWER, AND REVVED UP AGAIN. ANOTHER WITNESS STATED THE AIRPLANE ENGINE WAS MAKING A POPPING SOUND, WHILE CUTTING IN AND OUT. THE AIRPLANE WAS OBSERVED TO MAKE A STEEP RIGHT TURN, AND THE RIGHT WING WAS PERPENDICULAR TO THE GROUND. THE NOSE OF THE AIRPLANE WENT DOWN AND THE AIRPLANE DISAPPEARED FROM VIEW. A FEW SECONDS LATER THEY HEARD AN IMPACT SOUND AS THE AIRPLANE COLLIDED WITH THE GROUND. THEY WENT INSIDE AND CALLED 911. THE ACCIDENT ON SCENE INVESTIGATION REVEALED THAT THERE WAS NO FUEL OR ODOR OF FUEL AT THE SITE.

## 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 ATL04FA061](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ATL04FA061), Dec 28, 2003: Mooney 20F (N2996L), Campobello, SC, destroyed, 1 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot's failure to maintain airspeed while maneuvering for an emergency landing resulting in an inadvertent stall and a collision with trees and the ground during an uncontrolled descent. A…

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.