- Date
- January 21, 1992, 20:05 local (Jan 22, 1992, 02:05 UTC)
- Place
- Austin, TX
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N201YRMooney M20J
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed · report June 11, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19920121000689A
- Case key
- 18435
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 failure to maintain proper altitude. Factors were the pilot descending below the minimum descent altitude and not performing the briefed missed approach procedure along with the dark night, fog, drizzle, and low ceiling.
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 pilot executed a vor/dme instrument approach and descended below the published minimum descent altitude of 579 feet AGL. The airplane touched down half way down the runway and the pilot aborted the landing. A witness observed the airplane depart and maneuver at low level around the airport before he lost sight of the airplane. The airplane flew under a set of power lines and impacted fence posts and the terrain. The airplane's pitot static system head separated from the airframe during the impact sequence with the fence posts. The pilot stated a malfunction of the VSI and altimeter occurred during the insrument approach. No system failure was reported to the NTSB by the FAA coordinator. Testing of the pitot static system did not reveal any problems with the system. The passenger stated that the pilot attempted to fly around the airport at less than 100 feet in very poor visibility and that there were no instrument problems during the approach.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N201YR
- Reported as
- Mooney M20J
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 24-0734
- Airframe hours
- 4,209
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-360-A3B6D, 200 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Business · Part 91
- Operator
- Kissock, Darryl C.
- Registered owner
- Kissock, Darryl C.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Utility
- Last inspection
- Annual · April 26, 1991 · 83 hours before
- Departed
- PTN · Patterson, LA
- Flight plan
- IFR
- Airport
- 3R3 · Austin Executive, runway 18, 4,400 × 75 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
- 36
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 705 total · 305 in this make and model · 526 as pilot in command · 24 in the last 90 days · 22 in the last 30 days · 6 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- 110° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 2 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 400 ft broken
- Temperature
- 46 °F, dew point 45 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- AUS, 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.