- Date
- November 15, 1987, 12:27 local (19:27 UTC)
- Place
- Grand Canyon, AZ
- Injuries
- 4 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N6670RMooney M20C
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report July 3, 1989
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19871115064839A
- Case key
- 25789
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
While cruising en route all engine power was suddenly lost and the plt attempted an emergency ldg at the Grand Canyon arpt. During the glide, the acft crashed into an outcrop of rocks on a steep cliff, 0.5 mi from the end of the rwy. Exam of the engine revealed that one of the #3 connecting rod bolt nuts had backed off the bolt, and other nut had been partially stripped off its bolt. The engine had been operated for 212 hrs smoh. Lab exam of the bolt/nut interface indicated that the nuts had been undertorqued when they were last installed.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N6670R
- Reported as
- Mooney M20C
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 2865
- Airframe hours
- 2,433
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360-A1D, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Renato & Glenda Ricci
- Registered owner
- Jack A Pemberton
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · October 6, 1987 · 12 hours before
- Departed
- SEZ · Sedona, AZ
- Destination
- L06 · Death Valley, CA
- Airport
- GCN · Grand Canyon Natl Park, runway 3, 8,999 × 150 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
- 48
- 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
- 2,000 total · 50 in the last 90 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 310° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 50 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 36 °F, dew point 18 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- GCN, 1 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.