- Date
- June 15, 1990, 08:27 local (12:27 UTC)
- Place
- Charleston, WV
- Injuries
- 2 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N3260FMooney M20E
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report July 10, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19900615020499A
- Case key
- 11550
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The pilot's improper IFR procedures, his failure to maintain a proper glide path on the ILS approach, and his failure to initiate a missed approach at the decision height. The adverse weather was a related factor.
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
The plt & coplt were on a 15-DAY trip, which included stops at all state capitols in the conterminous united states. The acdnt occurred on the next to last leg of the trip. The plt was on a VFR flt, when he contacted apch ctl & requested landing instructions. He was advised that IMC conditions existed at the destn arpt. He then obtained vectors for an ILS rwy 23 apch. After acknowledging clnc to land, there was no further transmissions fm the acft. A witness that lived near the flt path to rwy 23 heard the acft & saw it for about 2 seconds when it appeared in a break in the clouds. Soon thereafter, he heard the acft hit trees & crash about 1 mi fm the apch end of the arpt at an elevation of about 1018 ft. wreckage was scattered over a 600 ft area. The witness rprtd the acft was very low before it crashed, but the eng sounded normal. No preimpact part failure or malfunction of the acft was found during an investigation. Decision height for the apch was 1181 ft.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N3260F
- Reported as
- Mooney M20E
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- M20E
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-360-A1A, 200 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Thunderbird Flying Club, Inc.
- Registered owner
- Thunderbird Flying Club, Inc
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 9, 1990
- Departed
- OSU · Columbus, OH
- Airport
- CRW · Charleston/Yeager, runway 23, 6,300 × 150 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
- 69
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 5,400 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Temperature
- 70 °F, dew point 68 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- CRW, 1 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.