- Date
- October 22, 1988, 10:08 local (15:08 UTC)
- Place
- Longview, TX
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N79373Mooney M20E
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 25, 1989
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19881022047669A
- Case key
- 22748
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 airplane was in cruise flight when the pilot transmitted that he had smoke in the cockpit. 53 seconds later contact was lost. The nose and left wing were slightly down when the acft struck trees and terrain at high speed. Fire started several minutes after impact. Investigation indicated there had been heavy smoke and possible short duration flash fire of undetermined origin. One group of wires was found with burned insulation and with one wire electrically melted in two.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N79373
- Reported as
- Mooney M20E
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 0583
- Airframe hours
- 2,824
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-360-A1A, 200 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- Both
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Birdwell, Robert
- Registered owner
- Birdwell, Robert
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · September 30, 1988 · 5 hours before
- Departed
- 78R · St Augustine, TX
- Destination
- 4F4 · Gilmer, TX
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
- 44
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 763 total · 633 as pilot in command · 89 in the last 90 days · 15 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 150° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 6 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 66 °F, dew point 55 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- GGG, 14 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.