Mooney M20C accident near Erie, Colorado, July 24, 2000
On July 24, 2000 at about 7:00 pm local time, a Mooney M20C, registered N5549Q, was substantially damaged in an accident near Erie, Colorado (Tri-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 visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
Failure by the pilot to follow procedures and lower the landing gear.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 24, 2000 · about 7:00 pm local time
- Place
- Erie, Colorado · Tri-County · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Mooney M20C · all M20Cs on the register
- Registration
- N5549Q · no longer on the register · serial 2963
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
At the completion of a cross-country flight, the flight was on final approach when the pilot was distracted by a truck, which was parked on one of the exit taxiways from the runway. Subsequently, the pilot failed to lower the landing gear and made a landing gear retracted landing.
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
- Flight time: 812 hours in all; 500 in this make and model; 65 in the last 90 days
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,540 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, September 8, 1999; 110 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,900 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming IO360-A1D (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 2V2 Longmont CO at 6:30 pm
- Destination: 48V
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 33, 4,700 ft by 60 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 280° at 15 knots, gusting 24
- Visibility: 80 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 12,000 ft; scat at 8,000 ft
- Temperature: 93°F (34°C), dew point 48°F (9°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 6:45 pm from BJC, 15 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.