Placerville Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Placerville, California 95667
Friday, July 18, 1997 10:42 PDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The airplane collided with trees and a residence after a loss of engine power while on final approach to runway 23. The airplane was destroyed by impact forces and postimpact fire, to include all engine accessories, the cockpit, and fuel system. A witness heard the pilot announce that he was on a 2 mile final to runway 23 and no additional transmissions were heard. Other witnesses saw the airplane make a descending, low, sweeping turn to the southwest just above the tree line, in a left wing down attitude just prior to the collision with the trees and residence 1 mile west of the airport. The engine was disassembled and examined with no anomalies noted which would have precluded the engine from producing power. The landing gear was in the down position, and the fuel selector was in the off position. Fuel load and usage was reconstructed based upon the distance between the origin and destination airports. The trip required 15 gallons of fuel. The airplane's last known fueling was on July 17th at the departure airport, when each wing tank was filled with 10 gallons. It is not known how much fuel was present in each tank prior to this fueling. Flight hours subsequent to the July 17th fueling could not be determined. Diphenhydramine, an antihistamine, was detected in the pilot's blood at 0.186 ug/ml, and in the liver at 1.594 ug/ml

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

A loss of engine power for undetermined reasons.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 7/18/1997
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 1042
Event Time Zone Pacific Daylight Time
Event City PLACERVILLE
Event State CALIFORNIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 95667
Event Date Year 1997
Event Date Month 7
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport PLACERVILLE
Event Location Nearest Airport ID PVF
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 1
Degrees magnetic from airport 103
Airport Elevation 2583
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 955 Pacific Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 249
Weather Observation Facility ID MCC
Elevation of weather observation facility 75
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 31
Time Zone of the weather observation PDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 15
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 24
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 13
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 130
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 5
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Fatal
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal 2
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 2
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 1886
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Jul 18 1997 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1102
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 8 2000 12:25PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N405LA
NTSB Number LAX97FA253
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire Ground
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Mooney
Aircraft Model M20J
Aircraft Series Identifier M20J
Aircraft Serial Number 24-3018
Certified Max Gross Weight 3000
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 4
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Oct 2 1996 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name LOGAN, TIMOTHY J.
Aircraft Owner Street Address 1221 SUNRIDGE ROAD
Aircraft Owner City PLACERVILLE
Aircraft Owner State CA
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 95667
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address
Operator City
Operator State
Operator Country
Operator Zip code
Operator Code
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation Unknown
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Business
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code VNY
Departure City VAN NUYS
Departure State CA
Departure Country
Departure Time 810
Departure Time Zone PDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code PVF
Destination City
Destination State
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Approach
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 2 2001 10:34AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 23
Runway Length 4200
Runway Width 75
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --