# NTSB FTW98FA088: Mooney M20K, N231DS, Vernon, TX, January 7, 1998 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Fatal · Field investigation · Final report - Date: January 7, 1998, 11:45 local (17:45 UTC) - Place: Vernon, TX - Coordinates: 34.147201, -99.260895 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=34.1472&lon=-99.2609&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Enroute](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/400) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: Fatal - Injuries: 2 fatal - Status: Completed, report November 14, 2001 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB case key (mKey): 20396 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=FTW98FA088 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/20396/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW98FA088 ## Probable cause the loss of control during cruise flight for undetermined reasons. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Loss of control - in flight, cruise - reason for occurrence undetermined (cause) - weather condition - freezing rain - weather condition - icing conditions - In flight collision with terrain/water, descent - uncontrolled - terrain condition - open field ## Analysis The single-engine airplane was established at a cruising altitude of 12,000 feet MSL. The instrument rated commercial pilot requested a descent to a lower altitude and was given clearance to descend to 10,000 feet by ATC. After the pilot acknowledged the clearance, radar contact and voice communications from the aircraft were lost. No distress calls were received from the aircraft. The wreckage of the airplane, which had impacted the ground in a near vertical attitude, was found by a search and rescue helicopter in an open field. Several aural witnesses, located near the accident site, reported hearing a very loud engine noise followed by silence. Several residents in the vicinity reported the local weather to be foggy, with freezing rain, and low clouds. The aircraft, which was not equipped for flight in icing conditions, was operating within the boundaries of a current weather advisory, which called for rime icing in the clouds below 8,000 feet. No mechanical anomalies were found during examination of the wreckage. Pilots flying various types of aircraft in the vicinity of the accident site had reported light to moderate icing in the clouds from 16,000 feet to 4,000 feet. According to the NTSB meteorologist, it was likely that the pilot could have encountered IMC conditions with light to moderate icing. ## Factual narrative On January 7, 1998, approximately 1150 central standard time, a Mooney M20K airplane, N231DS, registered to and operated by the pilot, impacted the ground following an uncontrolled descent approximately 8 miles northwest of Vernon, Texas. The aircraft was destroyed by impact forces and both occupants, the commercial rated pilot and 1 passenger, were fatally injured. An Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) flight plan was filed and instrument meteorological conditions prevailed in the vicinity of the accident. The Title 14 CFR Part 91 personal cross country flight had originated from San Marcos Municipal Airport, San Marcos, Texas, approximately 1000 and was en route to Garden City, Kansas, for a scheduled refueling stop. The aircraft's intended final destination was Andover, Minnesota. The aircraft's cruising altitude en route from San Marcos was 12,000 feet MSL as identified by positive radar returns from Fort Worth Center. Approximately 1145 the pilot requested a descent to 10,000 feet and was given the clearance to descend by Center. After the pilot acknowledged the clearance, both radar returns, and voice communications from the aircraft were lost. The last reported radar position of the aircraft was near the Hobart 193 degree radial at 40 nautical miles. Immediately after the lost contact, Fort Worth center issued an ALNOT (missing aircraft) message. The ALNOT remained in effect until aircraft wreckage, identified as N231DS, was found by a search and rescue helicopter. Several aural witnesses, located about 1 1/2 miles from the fog obscured accident site, reported hearing a very loud engine noise followed by silence at about 1150. Several people living in the vicinity of the accident reported the weather to be foggy, with freezing rain, ice pellets, and low clouds. The aircraft was within the boundaries of a current AIRMET which cited rime icing in clouds below 8,000 feet. No distress calls were heard from the aircraft. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N231DS](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N231DS-1998-08-28), registration cancelled 1998-08-28, S/N 250127 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Mooney M20K - Registry model: [Mooney M20K](https://openairdocs.org/model/mooney-m20k) (registry code 5870220) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 25-0127 - Airframe hours: 1734 - Engines: Continental TSIO-360-GB1 210 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Destroyed - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Registered owner: David R. Jack - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, December 15, 1995, 91 hours before - Departed: T98, SAN MARCOS, TX - Destination: GCK, GARDEN CITY, KS - Flight plan: IFR ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 60; commercial; airplane ratings: multi-engine land, single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 2, valid medical--w/ waivers/lim; seat: left; toxicology performed; flight hours: 2,075 total ## Weather - Conditions: Instrument (IMC), Day - Wind: 340° at 13 knots - Visibility: 1 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: 1,200 ft overcast - Temperature: 93 °F, dew point 93 °F - Altimeter: 29.00 inHg - Observed at: SPS, 42 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 (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 19980107000139A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19980107000139A), Jan 7, 1998: Mooney M20K, Vernon, TX, Destroyed. Acft crashed und unk circum, pilot and one passenger suffered fatal inj, Vernon, TX. (-23) on January 7, 1998, at 11:50 a.m., a Mooney-20-K owned and operated… From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.