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Accidents · NTSB CEN22LA164 · Final report

Mooney M20E accident near Kerrville, Texas, March 31, 2022

On March 31, 2022 at about 4:00 pm local time, a 1975 Mooney M20E, registered N21BS, was substantially damaged in an accident during taxi (from runway) near Kerrville, Texas (Kerrville Municipal Airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).

The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged

The pilot’s sudden cardiac event, which resulted in incapacitation, uncontrolled taxi after landing, and collision with a stationary parked airplane.

Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.

What the record shows

Date
March 31, 2022 · about 4:00 pm local time
Place
Kerrville, Texas · Kerrville Municipal Airport · map
Type
Accident · collision on the ground
Injuries
1 person was killed.
Weather
visual conditions (good weather)
Aircraft
Mooney M20E, built 1975 · all M20Es on the register
Registration
N21BS · no longer on the register · serial 21-1173
Damage
Substantial damage
Flight
Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)

The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record

After a local flight, the airplane landed, and a witness saw the airplane taxi over a grass-covered area and then onto the ramp at a higher-than-normal speed. The airplane struck a parked airplane, and the left wing became wedged underneath the empennage of the parked airplane. Airport personnel responded and discovered that the pilot was slumped over the flight controls and unresponsive. Emergency responders attempted CPR, but the pilot did not recover and was transported to a hospital where he was declared deceased. The airplane’s left wing sustained substantial damage. Examination of the airplane’s flight control, brake systems, and related systems did not reveal any mechanical anomalies that would have precluded normal operations. The pilot’s cause of death was atherosclerotic and hypertensive cardiovascular disease in association with obesity; the manner of death was reported as natural. There was significant cardiovascular disease identified by the autopsy without evidence of significant trauma. His cardiovascular conditions placed him at increased risk for a sudden cardiac event. Given the medical findings and the circumstances of this accident, it is likely that the pilot’s incapacitation from a sudden cardiac event caused the accident.

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

What happened, in order

  1. Medical event during taxi (from runway) defining event

The NTSB's findings

  • Personnel issues › Physical › Impairment/incapacitation › Cardiovascular › Pilot

Pilot

  • Certificate: private
  • Ratings: single-engine land; rotorcraft: unmanned (suas)
  • Flight time: 3,975 hours in all; 3,975 in this make and model; 6 in the last 90 days; 3 in the last 30 days
  • Medical certificate: BasicMed
  • Seat: left
  • Injury: fatal

The aircraft

  • Airframe total time: 3,948 hours
  • Last inspection: annual inspection, February 14, 2022
  • Seats: 4
  • Landing gear: retractable
  • Engine: Lycoming IO360 SER A&C (piston); 3,948 hours total

The flight

  • Departed from: ERV Kerrville TX at 3:15 pm
  • Flight plan: none

Weather at the time

  • Light: daylight
  • Wind: from 030° at 3 knots
  • Visibility: 10 statute miles
  • Sky: clear
  • Temperature: 63°F (17°C), dew point 36°F (2°C)
  • Altimeter: 29.95 inHg
  • Observation at 10:55 am from KERV

Weather report (METAR): KERV 311555Z AUTO 03003KT 10SM CLR 17/02 A2995 RMK AO2 T01720024

Injuries

FatalSeriousMinorNone
Flight crew1

Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report

6 documents, released by the NTSB on February 8, 2024. View them here, or download them; the NTSB redacts some personal details before release, and this site shows the NTSB's own titles rather than its file names.

The same 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.