Mooney M20J accident near Kalamazoo, Michigan, January 10, 1987
On January 10, 1987, a Mooney M20J, registered N5632H, was substantially damaged in an accident near Kalamazoo, Michigan (Kalamazoo County airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. 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
- January 10, 1987
- Place
- Kalamazoo, Michigan · Kalamazoo County · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Mooney M20J · all M20Js on the register
- Registration
- N5632H · no longer on the register · serial 24-1368
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
AFTER REQUESTING CLEARANCE TO KALAMAZOO COUNTY AIRPORT (AZO) DUE TO ICING PROBLEMS, THE PLT WAS GIVEN RADAR VECTORS TO THE ILS RUNWAY 35 APPROACH. FOUR MINUTES LATER THE PLT STATED THAT IT WAS 'PROBABLY GOING TO BE A DEAD STICK LANDING.' WHEN ASKED WHAT HE MEANT, THE PLT STATED HE WAS OUT OF POWER. AT THAT TIME, THE ACFT WAS ABOUT FIVE MILES FROM AZO AND IT CRASHED APPROXIMATELY 1/2 MILE SOUTHEAST OF AZO. FOLLOWING THE ACCIDENT, A DIFFERENT PROP WAS INSTALLED ON THE ENG AND IT RAN SMOOTHLY. OPERATION OF THE ALTERNATE AIR DOOR WAS CHECKED AND NO DEFECTS WERE NOTED.
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: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 9,000 hours in all; 2,000 in this make and model; 135 in the last 90 days; 9,000 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,255 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, March 21, 1986; 517 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,740 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming IO-360-A1B6D (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: ROC Rochester NY at 11:30 pm
- Destination: 5BN South Bend IN
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 35, 6,499 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 009° at 9 knots
- Visibility: 1 statute miles
- Sky: not recorded
- Temperature: 28°F (-2°C), dew point 27°F (-3°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
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.
Other NTSB records under N5632H the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.