# Accident 20050807022649A: Mooney M20C, Tucson, AZ, August 7, 2005

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: August 7, 2005, 12:45 local time
- Place: Tucson, AZ
- Airport: La Cholla Airpark Airport
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: In Traffic Pattern-Circling
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 32.4467° N, 111.0039° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=32.4467&lon=-111.0039&mi=10
- Aircraft: N6330Q, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N6330Q-2007-04-17) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Mooney M20C (registry code 5870208, https://openairdocs.org/model/mooney-m20c) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming O&VO-360 series (registry code 41514, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-o-vo-360-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: MOONEY M20C
- Reported engine: LYC O360A1D
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 1,854 total, 225 in this make and model, 22 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB LAX05LA261](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX05LA261) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20050807022649A

## Narrative

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

(-23) ON AUGUST 7, 2005, AT 1245 PACIFIC DAYLIGHT TIME, A MOONEY M20C, N6330Q, COLLIDED WITH TERRAIN WHILE EXECUTING AN EMERGENCY LANDING AFTER A LOSS OF ENGINE POWER AT LA CHOLLA AIR PARK, ORO VALLEY, ARIZONA. THE COMMERCIAL PILOT OPERATED THE AIRPLANE UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF 14 CFR PART 91. THE PILOT AND PASSENGER WERE NOT INJURED, AND THE AIRPLANE WAS SUBSTANTIALLY DAMAGED. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED, AND NO FLIGHT PLAN HAD BEEN FILED. THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED AT NOVATO, CALIFORNIA, AT 0735. THE PILOT REPORTED TO THE NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD INVESTIGATOR THAT THEY HAD BEEN AIRBORNE FOR ABOUT 5 HOURS 10 MINUTES. SHE HAD DEPARTED NOVATO WITH 52 GALLONS OF FUEL, AND HAD BEEN USING STANDARD FUEL MANAGEMENT PROCEDURES BY SWITCHING TANKS ABOUT EVERY HOUR. SHE MADE THE FINAL SWITCH TO THE RIGHT TANK AT 1210. AT 1240, SHE OVERFLEW THE LA CHOLLA AIR PARK AND EXECUTED A STANDARD ENTRY. WHILE IN A LEFT-HAND TURN TO ENTER THE DOWNWIND LEG, AND AT 1,500 FEET ABOVE GROUND LEVEL (AGL), THE ENGINE BEGAN TO RUN ABNORMALLY AND THEN QUIT PRODUCING POWER. SHE DIVERTED TO THE CROSSWIND RUNWAY, AND LANDED SHORT OF THE RUNWAY THRESHOLD IN DESERT VEGETATION.

## 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 LAX05LA261](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX05LA261), Aug 7, 2005: Mooney M20C (N6330Q), Oro Valley, AZ, substantial damage. Probable cause: a loss of engine power due to the pilot's inaccurate fuel consumption calculations that resulted in fuel exhaustion. Contributing to the accident was the inaccuracy of the cockpit fuel gages which…

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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