Mooney M20K accident near San Diego, California, October 26, 2003
On October 26, 2003 at about 10:19 pm local time, a Mooney M20K, registered N1147N, was destroyed in an accident near San Diego, California (Montgomery Field). 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).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the pilot's failure to configure the airplane properly for the go-around which resulted in degraded climb performance, and his failure to maintain adequate airspeed which resulted in a stall. The tailwind was a contributing factor.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 26, 2003 · about 10:19 pm local time
- Place
- San Diego, California · Montgomery Field · 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 M20K · all M20Ks on the register
- Registration
- N1147N · registry record · serial 25-0596
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The airplane landed hard on a highway while attempting to perform a go-around from runway 28R. The pilot received a preflight weather briefing from 1120 to 1131 and was advised he could not file IFR into the destination airport due to the closure of the TRACON and the airport ATCT due to a major forest fire threatening the facilities. He was advised he "might be able to get in VFR." He filed IFR to an intersection located in the vicinity of his destination airport. Once the flight arrived in the general destination area, the pilot canceled his IFR clearance and flew visually to the airport. After attempting to land runway 28R, he applied power for a go-around. He retracted the flaps but left the landing gear down, and did not put the propeller control in the full forward position. As the pilot maneuvered during the go-around he turned into a tailwind situation and the airplane was unable to maintain a climb. The airplane descended to impact on a highway. A post crash fire erupted and consumed the airplane. The POH for the airplane states that the propeller control should be at a high rpm during landing. For a go-around procedure, the POH indicates that the pilot should apply power, retract the flaps to the takeoff position [10 degrees], and then retract the landing gear and remaining flaps once the airplane accelerates to 91 mph (77 knots) IAS. A post-accident inspection revealed that the propeller governor control arm was 3/8-inch from the low pitch stop. A METAR was issued at 1414 that noted the wind was from 070 degrees at 6 knots, gusting to 14 knots. No discrepancies were found duirng an examination of the 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: private
- Ratings: single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 597 hours in all; 104 in this make and model; 32 in the last 90 days; 26 in the last 30 days; 525 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: October 19, 2003
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,306 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, June 15, 2003; 45 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,900 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental TSIO-360 (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: KSJN St. Johns AZ at 7:00 pm
- Destination: KMYF San Diego CA
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 28R, 4,577 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 040° at 9 knots
- Visibility: 0.2 statute miles
- Sky: vv at 1,000 ft
- Temperature: 88°F (31°C), dew point 46°F (8°C)
- Altimeter: 30.07 inHg
- Observation at 10:53 pm from KMYF, 1 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.
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number LAX04LA028.