Plane Crash Reports 2003

2003 Plane Crash Report Result

Title: MOONEY M20C, N5629Q, COLLIDED WITH TERRAIN NEAR WARNER SPRINGS,

Report Date: 01/23

Plane Crash Problem: On January 8, 2003, about 1100 Pacific standard time, a Mooney M20C, N5629Q, collided with terrain near Warner Springs, California. The pilot/owner was operating the airplane under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91. The certified flight instructor pilot, the sole occupant, sustained fatal injuries; the airplane was destroyed. The personal cross-country flight departed Fullerton (FUL), California, at 1027, en route to Borrego Springs (L08), California. Day visual meteorological conditions prevailed at Ramona, California, the nearest reporting station, which was 25 nm bearing 210 degrees from the accident site; the weather at the accident site was undetermined. No flight plan had been filed. The primary wreckage was at 33 degrees 22 minutes north latitude and 116 degrees 35 minutes west longitude. The accident site was in mountainous terrain covered with brushy vegetation. The main wreckage, which consisted of all of the major components of the airplane, came to rest with the engine right side up pointing 340 degrees. The fuselage was inverted back over the engine. Fire consumed the fuselage and empennage skins. The sections of wing skins that were not consumed by fire were white with blue accents. The first identified point of contact (FIPC) was broken limbs about 15 feet up in a tree with blue and white paint shards at the base of the tree. The debris path curved left about 10 degrees over a distance of approximately 150 feet, generally along a magnetic bearing of 085 degrees. Red lens fragments were located about the midpoint of the debris field, and continued to the left wing tip fairing, which separated and was located about 20 feet from the left wing tip after the airplane came to rest. Investigators examined the wreckage at Aircraft Recovery Service, Littlerock, California, on January 14, 2002. They slung the engine from a hoist and removed the top spark plugs from cylinders number 1, 2, and 4; they removed the bottom spark plug from cylinder number 3. All spark plugs were clean with no mechanical deformation. The spark plug electrodes were gray in color, which corresponded to normal operation according to the Champion Aviation Check-A-Plug AV-27 Chart. A borescope inspection revealed no mechanical deformation on the valves, cylinder walls, or internal cylinder head. Investigators established control continuity from the cockpit to the ailerons, and to the empennage for the rudder and elevators. The lower third of the rudder and the inboard sections of the horizontal stabilizers and elevators were consumed by fire.

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