Mooney M20F accident near Leesburg, Virginia, September 29, 1986
On September 29, 1986 at about 2:42 am local time, a Mooney M20F, registered N6443Q, was destroyed in an accident near Leesburg, Virginia (Leesburg Muni airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 29, 1986 · about 2:42 am local time
- Place
- Leesburg, Virginia · Leesburg Muni
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Mooney M20F · all M20Fs on the register
- Registration
- N6443Q · no longer on the register · serial 670522
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
DRG ARRIVAL, THE PLT WAS CLRD FOR A VOR RWY 35 APCH. ALSO, HE WAS ADVISED THAT THERE WERE PROBLEMS WITH THE RWY LIGHTS &THAT OTHER PLTS HAD MADE MISSED APCHS THAT EVENING DUE TO DIM ARPT LIGHTING. HE WAS THEN CLRD TO UNICOM FREQ & TOLD TO CANCEL HIS IFR CLNC AFTER HE HAD LANDED. HOWEVER, BEFORE LANDING, THE ACFT CRASHED ON LVL TERRAIN APRX 1/2 MI NORTHWEST OF THE ARPT WHILE IN A LEFT DESCENDING TURN. AN EXAM OF THE ACFT & ENG REVEALED NO PREIMPACT PART MALFUNCTION/FAILURE. RADAR DATA INDICATED THE ACFT HAD BEGUN A 360 DEGREE TURN AT ABOUT THE TIME IT CROSSED OVER THE THRESHOLD OF RWY 35. SUBSEQUENTLY, IT CRASHED WHILE TURNING THRU A HEADING OF ABOUT 240 DEG. APRX 9 MI SSE AT THE DULLES IAP, THE WX WAS IN PART: 1700' SCATTERED, 2200' BROKEN, VIS 3 MI WITH FOG. WITNESS STATEMENTS & A WX STUDY INDICATED THERE WERE AREAS OF FOG AROUND THE ARPT WITH THE VIS AS LOW AS 1/2 MI. THE REIL LIGHTS & THE PLT CONTROLLED LIGHTING SYSTEM HAD BEEN INOP SINCE 5/15/86, BUT NO NOTAM HAD BEEN ISSUED. THEREFORE, THE RWY LIGHTS (MIRL SYS) HAD BEEN PRESET ON MEDIUM INTENSITY.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 262 hours in all; 241 in this make and model; 47 in the last 90 days; 15 in the last 30 days; 196 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, November 29, 1985; 116 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,740 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming IO-360-A1A (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: NC67 W. Jefferson NC
- Destination: W09 Leesburg VA
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 35, 3,500 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 170° at 5 knots
- Sky: not recorded; not recorded
- Temperature: 68°F (20°C), dew point 66°F (19°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:53 am from IAD, 9 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.