- Date
- March 26, 1983, 13:09 local (21:09 UTC)
- Place
- Cobb, CA
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N2571WMooney M20E
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19830326009359A
- Case key
- 23440
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 had left his acft at lakeport, CA for maintenance to be performed & barrowed Mooney M20E, N2571W. Before the plt took off, the owner heard him talking to someone about the wx, but no record of a wx briefing was found. While en route to palo alto, CA, the acft crashed on the side of a mountain at an elevation of aprx 3600 ft MSL. The impact occurred on 30 deg down sloping terrain. An examination of the crash site revealed the acft had crashed in a steep nose down, left wing low attitude. Several people heard the acft & reported that the engine sounded normal, except it sounded like the plt applied full power just prior to impact. Witnesses agreed that the upper slopes of the mountain was obscured by clouds & the bottom of the cloud layer was between 3500 & 3800 ft MSL. The non-instrument rated plt had logged only about 7 hrs of simulated instrument time.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N2571W
- Reported as
- Mooney M20E
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 932
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-360-A1A, 200 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Paul E. Loewen
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · July 16, 1982
- Departed
- 102 · Lakeport, CA
- Destination
- PAO · Palo Alto, CA
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 45
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 309 total · 270 in this make and model · 251 as pilot in command · 32 in the last 90 days · 4 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.