Mooney M20J accident near San Antonio, Texas, December 25, 2005
On December 25, 2005 at about 11:00 pm local time, a Mooney M20J, registered N40FJ, was substantially damaged in an accident near San Antonio, Texas (Bulverde Airpark airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 4 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's failure to maintain sufficient airspeed on takeoff, which resulted in an inadvertent stall and subsequent hard landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 25, 2005 · about 11:00 pm local time
- Place
- San Antonio, Texas · Bulverde Airpark · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 4 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Mooney M20J · all M20Js on the register
- Registration
- N40FJ · no longer on the register · serial 24-3329
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The 1,520-hour airline transport pilot and the three passengers departed in a single-engine low-wing airplane on a local pleasure flight. Shortly after takeoff from the 2,890 foot long , by 40-foot wide asphalt runway, while the airplane was approximately 100 feet above the ground, it stalled, rolled to the left and nosed over toward the ground. The pilot was unable to maintain control of the airplane, but managed to level the wings before the airplane landed hard on the left side of the runway.
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: airline transport pilot, flight instructor, commercial pilot, private
- Ratings: single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,520 hours in all; 200 in this make and model; 20 in the last 90 days
- Medical certificate: Class 2
The aircraft
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming O-360 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 1T8 Bulverde TX
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 16
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 3 |
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.