Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Mount Pleasant, South Carolina 29464
Sunday, January 9, 2000 19:00 EST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot was cleared for a night instrument approach in instrument conditions. A witness who was waiting for the pilot at the airport heard the airplane fly over the airport flying towards a residential area, but could not see the airplane due to fog. Witnesses in the residential area observed the airplane descend out of the fog, pull up about 40-degrees, and reenter the fog in a steep left bank with slow airspeed. The airplane was observed descending out of the fog in a 70-degree left bank. An increase in engine power was heard, the airplane disappeared from view and was heard to impact water and a marshy area. Examination of the airframe, flight controls, engine assembly and accessories revealed no evidence of a precrash mechanical failure or malfunction. Toxicology results revealed the pilot was impaired due to drugs.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain airspeed (VSO) while maneuv ering on a night instrument approach in instrument conditions. This resulted in an inadvertent in-flight loss of control (stall/spin), and subsequent in-flight collision with a swamp. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's impairment due to marihuana.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 1/9/2000
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1900
Event Time Zone Eastern Standard Time
Event City MOUNT PLEASANT
Event State SOUTH CAROLINA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 29464
Event Date Year 2000
Event Date Month 1
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness Full
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1908 Eastern Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 240
Weather Observation Facility ID CHS
Elevation of weather observation facility 46
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 17
Time Zone of the weather observation EST
Lighting Conditions Night/Dark
Lowest Ceiling Height 300
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Unknown
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 5
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 16
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 16
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 190
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 10
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 1
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 67
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Jan 9 2000 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1925
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 12 2000 1:25PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Instrument Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N2135X
NTSB Number MIA00FA066
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed IFR
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Mooney
Aircraft Model M20M
Aircraft Series Identifier M20M
Aircraft Serial Number 27-0237
Certified Max Gross Weight 3368
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 Sep 27 1999 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name DENIS PERLMAN
Aircraft Owner Street Address 1 KING STREET
Aircraft Owner City NORTHAMPTON
Aircraft Owner State MA
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 01060
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 MYR
Departure City MYRTLE BEACH
Departure State SC
Departure Country
Departure Time 1816
Departure Time Zone EST
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code 8S5
Destination City
Destination State
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Maneuvering
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 2 2001 10:35AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 0
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --