- Date
- January 15, 1991, 05:00 local (11:00 UTC)
- Place
- Fayette, MO
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N5809AMooney M20K
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report March 31, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19910115000609A
- Case key
- 14991
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 failure of the pilot to maintain control of the airplane. Factors were the pilot's overconfidence in his personal ability, and flight into known adverse weather.
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 accident airplane collided with terrain during a business flight. The local sheriff's department reported there was fog and precipitation in the vicinity at the time of the accident. The night flight originated in baltimore, Maryland with an en route fuel stop in columbus, Ohio. The intended destination was olathe, Kansas. The pilot was receiving VFR inflight advisories from an ARTCC. At one point the pilot advised the center that he was going to retrace steps to get below the clouds. The airplane was last observed on radar at 2600 feet MSL approximately 35 miles east of the accident site. The non-instrument rated pilot received two weather briefings for the flight. Records show that the pilot received 3.5 hours of dual flight instruction in the 60 days prior to the flight. This included 1.5 hours of basic instrument training. The pilot bought the airplane one week before the accident.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N5809A
- Reported as
- Mooney M20K
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 25-0873
- Engine
- Continental TSIO-360, 210 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Business · Part 91
- Operator
- Jerry L. Ellis
- Last inspection
- Unknown · January 2, 2000
- Departed
- CMH · Columbus, OH
- Destination
- OJC · Olathe, KS
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
- 47
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 600 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Night/dark
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.