Mooney M20C accident near Pensacola, Florida, December 28, 1990
On December 28, 1990 at about 11:39 pm local time, a Mooney M20C, registered N6600U, was destroyed in an accident near Pensacola, Florida (Pensacola Regional airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
THE PILOT'S FAILURE TO USE CARBURETOR HEAT RESULTING IN LOSS OF ENGINE POWER DUE TO CARBURETOR ICE. A FACTOR IN THE ACCIDENT WAS THE PILOT'S MEDICAL CONDITION.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 28, 1990 · about 11:39 pm local time
- Place
- Pensacola, Florida · Pensacola Regional · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Mooney M20C · all M20Cs on the register
- Registration
- N6600U · no longer on the register · serial 2387
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
FLT WAS CLRD FOR ILS APCH. ABOUT 10 MI FROM RWY PLT REPORTED HIS GLIDESLOPE WAS NOT WORKING. FLT WAS THEN CLEARED FOR ASR RADAR APCH. AT 1.5 MILES FROM RWY FLT WAS LOST FROM RADAR. WITNESSES REPORTED ACFT FLEW OVERHEAD AT TREE TOP LEVEL WITHOUT THE ENG RUNNING. ACFT HIT TREES AND THEN CRASHED INTO GND INVERTED. PROPELLER HAD NO ROTATION DAMAGE. NO EVIDENCE TO INDICATE PRECRASH MALFUNCTION OF ENGINE WAS NOTED. THE MIXTURE CONTROL WAS IN THE CRUISE LEAN POSITION AND THE CARBURETOR HEAT WAS IN THE COLD POSITION. NO INST APCH PLATES WERE FOUND OPEN IN THE COCKPIT. THE FLT WAS OPERATING IN CONDITIONS WHICH WOULD CAUSE VISIBLE CARB ICE AT CRUISE POWER AND SERIOUS CARB ICE AT GLIDE POWER. POST MORTEM EXAMINATION OF THE PLT INDICATED HE SUFFERED FROM MILD CEREBRAL ATROPHY AND HYPERTENSIVE ARTERIOSCLEROTIC HEART DISEASE. THE PLT WAS PRESCRIBED HYPERTENSIVE MEDICATION BUT WAS NOT TAKING IT AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT.
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: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,700 hours in all; 1,800 in this make and model; 10 in the last 90 days; 10 in the last 30 days; 2,300 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,252 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, September 17, 1990; 21 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,575 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming O-360-A10 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: UBS Columbus MS at 9:30 pm
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 16, 7,002 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 100° at 6 knots
- Sky: overcast at 200 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 63°F (17°C), dew point 63°F (17°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 11:35 pm from PNS, 2 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.