- Date
- December 25, 1992, 17:00 local (23:00 UTC)
- Place
- Deridder, LA
- Injuries
- 2 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N6878NMooney M20C
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Dusk
- Status
- Completed · report September 28, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19921225051799A
- Case key
- 18583
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 loss of control of the airplane in IMC. A factor was his lack of recent instrument flight experience.
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 flew approximately three hours cross country in IFR conditions without a flight plan or contacting ATC. The burning wreckage was found in a field under the missed approach flight path near the uncontrolled destination airport. The airplane impacted the ground in a nose down, left wing down attitude. The weather at the time was 500 feet overcast with restricted visibility and rain. No evidence of pre impact failure or malfunction was found in the airframe, powerplant or aircraft systems. An instructor, who was a part owner in the airplane and had given the pilot his last bfr 30 months prior to the accident, stated that the pilot was not current for instrument flight.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N6878N
- Reported as
- Mooney M20C
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 680153
- Airframe hours
- 2,850
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360-A1D, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Fatheree, Thomas H.
- Registered owner
- Fatheree, Thomas H.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · September 22, 1992 · 97 hours before
- Departed
- 3R5 · New Braunfels, TX
- Destination
- DRI
- Airport
- DRI · Deridder
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
- 52
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 580 total · 200 in this make and model · 6 in the last 90 days · 4 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Dusk
- Wind
- 20° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 6 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 500 ft broken
- Temperature
- 46 °F, dew point 45 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- PLK, 16 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.