- Date
- September 28, 1986, 22:42 local (Sep 29, 1986, 02:42 UTC)
- Place
- Leesburg, VA
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N6443QMooney M20F
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19860928053209A
- Case key
- 11217
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
Drg arrival, the plt was clrd for a VOR rwy 35 apch. Also, he was advised that there were problems with the rwy lights &that other plts had made missed apchs that evening due to dim arpt lighting. He was then clrd to UNICOM freq & told to cancel his IFR clnc after he had landed. However, before landing, the acft crashed on lvl terrain aprx 1/2 mi northwest of the arpt while in a left descending turn. An exam of the acft & eng revealed no preimpact part malfunction/failure. Radar data indicated the acft had begun a 360 degree turn at about the time it crossed over the threshold of rwy 35. Subsequently, it crashed while turning thru a heading of about 240 deg. Aprx 9 mi sse at the dulles iap, the wx was in part: 1700' scattered, 2200' broken, vis 3 mi with fog. Witness statements & a wx study indicated there were areas of fog around the arpt with the vis as low as 1/2 mi. The REIL lights & the plt controlled lighting system had been inop since 5/15/86, but no NOTAM had been issued. Therefore, the rwy lights (mirl sys) had been preset on medium intensity.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N6443Q
- Reported as
- Mooney M20F
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 670522
- Airframe hours
- 4
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-360-A1A, 200 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- James M Rees
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · November 29, 1985 · 116 hours before
- Departed
- NC67 · W. Jefferson, NC
- Destination
- W09 · Leesburg, VA
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- W09 · Leesburg Muni, runway 35, 3,500 × 75 ft, asphalt
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 45
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 262 total · 241 in this make and model · 196 as pilot in command · 47 in the last 90 days · 15 in the last 30 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- 170° at 5 knots
- Temperature
- 68 °F, dew point 66 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- IAD, 9 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.