Mooney M20J accident near Newellton, Louisiana, July 27, 2006
On July 27, 2006 at about 4:40 am local time, a Mooney M20J, registered N577RS, was destroyed in an accident near Newellton, Louisiana. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 2 people were killed. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's continued flight into adverse weather conditions. Contributing factors were the prevailing thunderstorms, the dark night conditions, and Air Traffic Control's failure to issue hazardous weather information to the pilot.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 27, 2006 · about 4:40 am local time
- Place
- Newellton, Louisiana · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Mooney M20J · all M20Js on the register
- Registration
- N577RS · no longer on the register · serial 24-1504
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The single-engine airplane impacted into a cotton field following a loss of control during an in-flight encounter with a thunderstorm while on a 228-nautical mile night cross country flight. The 1,295-hour instrument rated flight instructor and student pilot were fatally injured. The flight originated under visual flight rules (VFR). While airborne the pilot observed lightning in the distance and called a Flight Service Station, via the radio, inquiring if there were any weather radar returns between their present position and their intended destination. The flight specialist responded that there was some scattered thunderstorm activity along their route and suggested the pilot deviate north in an attempt to avoid them. The flight specialist further informed the pilot of an AIRMET in effect for Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) along their route of flight, with VFR flight not recommended, and that their destination airport was reporting a broken ceiling at 600-feet above ground level (AGL). The pilot acknowledged, filed, and activated an IFR flight plan to their destination via a northern route. The pilot was in communications with two Air Route Traffic Control Centers (ARTCC) during the flight. A review of ARTCC communications with the accident airplane revealed that the pilot was not provided with any weather advisories nor was he advised of the radar-depicted weather displayed on the controller's scope. According to recorded display system information, adverse weather was located along the accident airplane's flight path. The airplane entered the depicted weather while at 8,000-feet. About 19 seconds later, radar contact was lost while the accident airplane was at 4,400-feet. The airplane came to rest in an upright position. There was no post crash fire. The fuselage was found crushed downward in a manner consistent with a near vertical flat impact. The horizontal stabilizer had failed in positive (upward) while the one piece wing was found separated mid span, having failed in negative (downward). The examination revealed no pre impact anomalies with the airplane's controls or engine.
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: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,295 hours in all; 139 in the last 90 days; 49 in the last 30 days; 1,082 as pilot in command; 438 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: rgt
- Injury: fatal
Dual student
- Certificate: student
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Last inspection: annual inspection, August 1, 2005
- Maximum gross weight: 2,740 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming IO-360-A3B6D (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: MCB Mccomb MS at 3:36 am
- Destination: GGG Longview TX
- Flight plan: IFR
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: night
- Wind: from 180° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 7,500 ft; scat at 6,000 ft
- Temperature: 73°F (23°C), dew point 72°F (22°C)
- Altimeter: 29.96 inHg
- Observation at 4:53 pm from MLU, 47 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 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.