Mooney M20C accident near Slate Run, Pennsylvania, May 22, 1984
On May 22, 1984 at about 11:40 pm local time, a Mooney M20C, registered N5818Q, was destroyed in an accident near Slate Run, Pennsylvania (Black Forest airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 4 people were seriously injured. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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
- May 22, 1984 · about 11:40 pm local time
- Place
- Slate Run, Pennsylvania · Black Forest
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 4 people were seriously injured.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Mooney M20C · all M20Cs on the register
- Registration
- N5818Q · no longer on the register · serial 3118
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE ACFT CRASHED SHORTLY AFTER TAKEOFF FROM THE BLACK FORESTAIRPORT. INVESTIGATION REVEALED THAT THE ACFT TRAVELED APPROX 2/3RDS OF THE RWY DISTANCE, BECAME AIRBORNE, SETTLED BACK ON THE RWY & BECAME AIRBORNE AGAIN. AT THE TIME OF TAKEOFF THE ACFT WAS LOADED NEAR ITS GROSS TAKEOFF WT, THE DENSITY ALT WAS CALCULATED AS 4000 FT & THE SOD RWY WAS WET.
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: 2,600 hours in all; 2,550 in this make and model; 2,600 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,331 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, September 19, 1983; 2,294 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,575 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming O-360-AID (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: Black Forest PA at 11:35 pm
- Destination: Trenton Robbvil NJ
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 35, 2,100 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 150° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: not recorded; scat at 250 ft
- Temperature: 77°F (25°C), dew point 68°F (20°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 10:51 pm from IPT, 33 miles away
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.