Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
North Las Vegas Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Las Vegas, Nevada 89108
Friday, August 20, 1999 12:27 PDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The airplane was in the landing pattern when it rolled and exhibited exaggerated wing rocking then descended until it collided with a tree and a residence. The pilot sequenced for runway 12, but tower personnel thought the pilot was positioning for runway 7. They informed him to follow traffic ahead on final for runway 12 and suggested that he turn to a heading of 300 degrees. The pilot replied "Wilco" and they heard no other transmissions from the airplane. The controller looked away; when he looked back he saw exaggerated wing rocking as the airplane descended. Witnesses on the ground reported the airplane rolled and reported exaggerated wing rocking. This was followed by an explosion and fireball at ground impact. The passenger in the right front seat stated everything was fine until the pilot executed a steep left bank. He heard the pilot express concern vocally and noticed he was having difficulty controlling the airplane. He stated all three occupants survived the impact sequence. The left side of the airplane ripped open and flames were coming in that side. He saw the pilot trying to unfasten his seat belt and heard the passenger in the rear seat tell him to hurry and get out. He was able to exit the airplane and sustained burns on his legs, arms, and face. The passenger in the rear seat had luggage wedged between her legs and the front seat, which hindered her escape.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
The pilot's steep turn at low altitude that resulted in an accelerated stall while in the landing configuration, leading to a loss of control and subsequent ground impact.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 8/20/1999 |
| Event Day of the Week | Friday |
| Time of Event | 1227 |
| Event Time Zone | Pacific Daylight Time |
| Event City | LAS VEGAS |
| Event State | NEVADA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 89108 |
| Event Date Year | 1999 |
| Event Date Month | 8 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | -- |
| Event Location Longitude | -- |
| Event Location Airport | NORTH LAS VEGAS |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | VGT |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | On Airport |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 2 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | 267 |
| Airport Elevation | 2203 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | Full |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1223 Pacific Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 87 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | VGT |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 2203 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 2 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | PDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | 18000 |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 12000 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Scattered |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | Broken |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | 0 |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | 0 |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 25 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 90 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 57 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 100 |
| 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) | 30 |
| 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 | 1 |
| Injury Total All | 3 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 10438 |
| NTSB Notification Source | -- |
| NTSB Notification Date | Aug 20 1999 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | 1220 |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | IMAGE |
| Date of most recent change to record | Aug 29 2001 10:56AM |
| User who most recently changed record | MONR |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N2654W |
| NTSB Number | LAX99FA275 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | N |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | VFR |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | -- |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | Ground |
| Aircraft Explosion | Ground |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Mooney |
| Aircraft Model | M20E |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | M20E |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 985 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 2575 |
| 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 | Apr 5 1999 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | -- |
| Airframe Hours | -- |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Yes |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | Unknown |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | KENNETH B. HORNE |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | |
| Aircraft Owner City | LAS VEGAS |
| Aircraft Owner State | NV |
| Aircraft Owner Country | |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 89106 |
| 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) | Personal |
| Second Pilot on Board | No |
| Departure Point Same as Event | No |
| Departure Airport Code | RNO |
| Departure City | RENO |
| Departure State | NV |
| Departure Country | |
| Departure Time | 920 |
| Departure Time Zone | PDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | crash at destination city |
| Destination Airport Code | VGT |
| Destination City | |
| Destination State | |
| Destination Country | |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Approach |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Aug 8 2001 4:00AM |
| User who most recently changed record | dbo |
| Since inspection or accident | -- |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 12 |
| Runway Length | 5000 |
| Runway Width | 75 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |