Mooney M20E accident near Walsh, Colorado, October 5, 1988
On October 5, 1988 at about 10:30 pm local time, a Mooney M20E, registered N5997Q, was destroyed in an accident near Walsh, Colorado. It was a business flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 3 people were 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
- October 5, 1988 · about 10:30 pm local time
- Place
- Walsh, Colorado · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 3 people were killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Mooney M20E · all M20Es on the register
- Registration
- N5997Q · no longer on the register · serial 757
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Business flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THERE IS NO RECORD PLT OBTAINED WX BRIEFING, FILED FLT PLAN, OR OBTAINED IN-FLT WX ADVISORIES. PLT AND TWO PAX DEPARTED SAN MARCOS, TX, AT 1400 CDT IN VMC, ENROUTE TO SPRINGFIELD, CO. ACFT WAS SEEN BY TWO WITNESSES AT APRX 1630 MDT, 11 MI W OF WALSH, CO, FLYING WESTERLY AT LOW ALT. WX WAS IMC WITH DRIZZLE AND THICK FOG. ACFT CRASHED 5 MI W OF WALSH, OR 20 MI ESE OF DESTINATION. PLT WAS NOT IFR RATED AND MEDICAL CERTIFICATE HAD EXPIRED. PLT REPORTEDLY DID NOT KEEP LOGBOOK AND BFR DATA COULD NOT BE DOCUMENTED. ACFT WAS OUT OF ANNUAL, WAS NOT IFR-CERTIFIED, AND ELT BATTERY HAD EXPIRED. PLT TOLD SISTER HE HAD TO RETURN TO SPRINGFIELD THAT DAY.
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: 3,050 hours in all; 25 in the last 90 days
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (expired)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,234 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, June 6, 1986; 170 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,575 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming IO-360-A1A (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: T98 San Marcos TX at 7:00 pm
- Destination: 8V7 Springfield CO
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 1 statute miles
- Sky: not recorded
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 2 |
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.