- Date
- March 26, 1989, 12:20 local (20:20 UTC)
- Place
- San Andreas, CA
- Injuries
- 4 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N9379MMooney M20F
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 2, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19890326004519A
- Case key
- 26217
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
Interruption of engine power for an undetermined reason, and failue of the pilot to maintain airspeed, which resulted in a stall/spin. A factor related to the accident was: lack of altitude to recover from the stall/spin.
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
Witnesses rprtd there was an interruption of eng power as the acft was maneuvering at low alt, then it entered a dscnt with the wings rotating & crashed. A swath thru the trees in the impact area indicated the acft was in a left wing low/nose down attitude when it crashed. The prop blades had evidence of chordwise scratches & deep leading edge gouges. Also, a tree limb was found that had been sliced; it contained black paint that matched paint on the prop.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N9379M
- Reported as
- Mooney M20F
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 670003
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-360-A1A, 200 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Drago, Charles R.
- Registered owner
- Draco, Charles & Sharon
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · October 15, 1988
- Departed
- 061 · Cameron Park, CA
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
- 49
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 640 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 330° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 40 statute miles
- Temperature
- 84 °F, dew point 41 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- SCK, 32 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.
Other investigations on N9379M · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.