- Date
- July 22, 1985, 15:12 local (21:12 UTC)
- Place
- Durango, CO
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N3866HMooney M20K
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19850722037499A
- Case key
- 16732
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
The plt reported that prior to landing, the UNICOM operator reported that the wind was from the northwest at 10 to 20 KTS & was gusty. Also, he said that while on base leg, he encountered a severe downdraft. He stated that he applied pwr & retracted the flaps to arrest the sink rate. However, the acft subsequently struck the ground about 5 ft short of the rwy, damaged the landing gear, collided with apch/rwy lights & slid about 170 on its belly before coming to rest on the rwy. An exam of the wreckage revealed that the fuel selector was positioned to the right tank which was empty. Fuel was still remaining in the left tank. Also, the prop bore evidence of little or no rotation at impact. About 8 mi east-southeast at the la plata arpt, the 1455 MDT wind was from 020 deg at 5 KTS. The density alt was estimated to be 8478 ft.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N3866H
- Reported as
- Mooney M20K
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 25-0447
- Airframe hours
- 1,250
- Engine
- Continental TSIO-360-GB1, 210 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Ferry · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Holt Sheet Metal, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 28, 1985 · 22 hours before
- Departed
- SAF · Sante Fe, NM
- Airport
- 5000 · Animas, runway 1, 5,000 × 50 ft, asphalt
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 61
- Certificates
- Airline transport, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 15,185 total · 300 in this make and model · 103 in the last 90 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 20° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 50 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 5,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 68 °F, dew point 61 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- DRO, 8 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.