- Date
- April 8, 1989, 11:00 local (18:00 UTC)
- Place
- Prescott, AZ
- Injuries
- 4 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N9705MMooney M20F
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report August 2, 1990
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19890408006979A
- Case key
- 26372
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 failure of the plt to lean the fuel mixture for the high density altitude. Contributing to the accident was the cfi's lack of familiarity with the airplane and engine operating procedures.
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 airport elevation was 5,042 feet, and the density altitude was 7,600 feet. The flight instructor stated they had aborted the first takeoff attempt because the engine RPM was insufficient for takeoff. On the next attempt, the airplane became airborne and flew in ground effect. The engine RPM was insufficient to sustain flight. The flight instructor took control and banked the airplane to avoid powerlines. The airplane descended into an open field. The CFI did not lean the mixture for takeoff. He said he believed the carburetor had an auto-lean feature and he did not have to lean the mixture. The IO-360 engine is fuel injected and does not have auto-lean. Post accident engine run revealed the engine was capable of normal operation with fuel mixture properly set.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N9705M
- Reported as
- Mooney M20F
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 670265
- Airframe hours
- 3,323
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-360-A1A, 200 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Joseph Leyva
- Registered owner
- Leyva, Joseph B
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · April 1, 1989 · 2 hours before
- Departed
- PRC
- Destination
- INW · Winslow, AZ
- Airport
- PRC · Ernest A Love Field
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
- 23
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 1,450 total · 2 in this make and model · 1,360 as pilot in command
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 270° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 65 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 82 °F, dew point 19 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- PRC
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.