- Date
- October 16, 1988, 10:50 local (14:50 UTC)
- Place
- Ludington, MI
- Injuries
- 2 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N58155Mooney M20J
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 16, 1990
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19881016048629A
- Case key
- 14235
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 in command failed to maintain proper altitude utilizing basic flight instruments while experiencing a loss of gyro instruments.
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
Shortly after takeoff the pilot contacted minneapolis center to activate an IFR flight plan and subsequently reported a complete gyro failure. The pilot was being given a no-gyro turn to the nearest available airport when the airplane disappeared off radar. The acft was recovered in a lake almost directly beneath the last known radar location. Post accident inspection of the wreckage revealed a sheared vacuum pump shaft.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N58155
- Reported as
- Mooney M20J
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 24-1581
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-360-A3B6D, 200 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Harmon S. Lowrie
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- LDM · Ludington, MI
- Destination
- PWK · Wheeling, IL
- Flight plan
- IFR
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
- 62
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 1,200 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Lowest ceiling
- 400 ft overcast
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.