Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Marysvale, Utah 84750
Thursday, August 8, 2002 19:50 MDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The airplane was found on a mountain ridge (elevation 11,814 feet; oriented 330 degrees) approximately 800 feet from a mountain peak (elevation 12,175). Family members said that the pilot commonly flew near the ridge "looking for animals." Two men camping nearby said that the wind was out of the west at 10 to 15 knots, with gusts over 20 knots, at the time of the accident. The density altitude was calculated to be 14,668 feet.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the pilot's poor in-flight decision to fly so close to the ridge (looking for animals). Contributing factors were the mountainous terrain condition, the downdraft weather conditions in high mountains, and the high density altitude weather condition.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 8/8/2002
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 1950
Event Time Zone Mountain Daylight Time
Event City Marysvale
Event State UTAH
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 84750
Event Date Year 2002
Event Date Month 8
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 382223N
Event Location Longitude 1122223W
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 Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1954 Mountain Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 22
Weather Observation Facility ID MLF
Elevation of weather observation facility 5039
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 280
Time Zone of the weather observation MDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 28
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -4
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 20
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 9
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.22
Density Altitude (feet) 14669
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Fatal
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal 4
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 4
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 13954
NTSB Notification Source FAA Comm Center
NTSB Notification Date Aug 9 2002 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1030
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Sep 30 2003 9:55AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Salt Lake City, UT

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N1088B
NTSB Number DEN02FA089
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Mooney
Aircraft Model M20A
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 1314
Certified Max Gross Weight 2450
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 Mar 15 2000 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 89
Airframe Hours 4265
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Yes
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Holm Con
Aircraft Owner Street Address P.O. Box 202
Aircraft Owner City Green River
Aircraft Owner State UT
Aircraft Owner Country --
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 84525
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name --
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
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? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
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 RIF
Departure City Richfield
Departure State UT
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1930
Departure Time Zone MDT
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code AZC
Destination City Colorado City
Destination State AZ
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Maneuvering
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record May 10 2004 9:40AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\HAMG
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location --
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --