# NTSB investigations: Mooney M20C: Loss of control in flight

NTSB aviation accident and incident investigations since 1962: the probable cause, findings, aircraft, crew, weather and docket of each, linked to the FAA registry and the FAA’s own reports.

## Latest cases

- [NTSB CEN24FA042](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN24FA042.md): Mooney M20C · Plano, TX · Accident · 1 fatal · Class 3 · Field · Final report · Nov 21, 2023 · N1204X · Destroyed
  > The pilot’s exceedance of the airplane’s critical angle of attack during a climbing turn during a go-around, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and loss of control.
- [NTSB ERA20CA205](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA20CA205.md): Mooney M20C · Durham, NC · Accident · Serious injuries · Class 4 · Data collection · Final report · Jun 2, 2020 · N2768W · Substantial damage
  > The pilot’s failure to maintain proper airspeed and his exceedance of the airplane’s critical angle of attack, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall..
- [NTSB CEN20FA034](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN20FA034.md): Mooney M20C · Flower Pot, AZ · Accident · 1 fatal · Class 3 · Field · Final report · Dec 8, 2019 · N5557Q · Destroyed
  > The noninstrument-rated pilot’s decision to initiate and continue the visual flight rules flight into an area of forecast instrument meteorological conditions, which resulted in the pilot’s spatial disorientation and loss of airplane control. Contributing was…
- [NTSB ERA19FA130](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA19FA130.md): Mooney M20C · Cashiers, NC · Accident · 1 fatal · Class 3 · Field · Final report · Mar 14, 2019 · N6075Q · Destroyed
  > The pilot's loss of airplane control due to spatial disorientation while flying in instrument meteorological conditions. Contributing to the accident was the failure of the vacuum pump and its associated instruments.
- [NTSB ERA19FA023](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA19FA023.md): Mooney M20C · Woodbine, NJ · Accident · 1 fatal · Class 3 · Field · Final report · Oct 23, 2018 · N9667M · Destroyed
  > The pilot's failure to maintain the proper airspeed during takeoff, which resulted in the exceedance of the airplane’s critical angle of attack and the airplane experiencing an aerodynamic stall.
- [NTSB ERA18FA030](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA18FA030.md): Mooney M20C · Starke, FL · Accident · 1 fatal · Field investigation · Final report · Nov 23, 2017 · N6894N · Destroyed
  > The pilot's loss of control due to spatial disorientation while maneuvering in instrument meteorological conditions. Contributing was the pilot's lack of instrument currency and his self-induced pressure to complete the flight.
- [NTSB ERA15FA049](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA15FA049.md): Mooney M20C · Lewisburg, WV · Accident · Serious injuries · Field investigation · Final report · Nov 10, 2014 · N6581U · Substantial damage
  > The pilot's failure to maintain airspeed while maneuvering, which resulted in the airplane exceeding its critical angle of attack and experiencing an aerodynamic stall. Contributing to the accident were abnormal engine operation due to improper…
- [NTSB WPR13FA335](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR13FA335.md): Mooney M20C · South Lake Tahoe, CA · Accident · 1 fatal · Field investigation · Final report · Jul 22, 2013 · N6709U · Substantial damage
  > The pilot’s decision to turn into rising terrain that would have required performance in excess of the airplane’s maximum climb rate to clear after taking off at a high density altitude.
- [NTSB CEN09FA147](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN09FA147.md): Mooney M20C · Elbert, CO · Accident · 1 fatal · Field investigation · Final report · Feb 1, 2009 · N7774M · Substantial damage
  > The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed while maneuvering, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and subsequent loss of control.
- [NTSB LAX08FA068](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/LAX08FA068.md): Mooney M20C · Riverside, CA · Accident · 3 fatal · Field investigation · Final report · Feb 28, 2008 · N591BB · Destroyed
  > The pilot's failure to maintain airspeed and aircraft control, resulting in an aerodynamic stall.

## The whole list in SQL

Runs in DuckDB 1.2 or later on the release's Parquet files over HTTPS:

```sql
SELECT c."ntsbNumber", c."eventDate", c."eventType", c."eventCity", c."eventStateOrRegion", a.n_number, a."aircraftMake", a."aircraftModel", c."highestInjuryLevel", c."totalFatal", c."completionStatus", c.report_url
FROM 'https://openairdocs.org/data/latest/ntsb_case_detail.parquet' c LEFT JOIN 'https://openairdocs.org/data/latest/ntsb_aircrafts.parquet' a ON a.case_mkey = c."mKey" AND a.position = 1
WHERE c."mKey" IN (SELECT x.case_mkey FROM 'https://openairdocs.org/data/latest/ntsb_aircrafts.parquet' x WHERE x.aircraft_model_code IN ('5870208')
    AND EXISTS (SELECT 1 FROM 'https://openairdocs.org/data/latest/ntsb_events.parquet' s WHERE s.case_mkey = x.case_mkey AND s.aircrafts_position = x.position AND s."tier2Number" = '240' AND s.case_mkey IN (SELECT case_mkey FROM 'https://openairdocs.org/data/latest/ntsb_events.parquet' WHERE "isDefiningEvent")))
ORDER BY c."eventDate" DESC, c."ntsbNumber" DESC
```

This list as a web page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/240/sequence?model=5870208

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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.
