Mooney M20C accident near Highgate, Vermont, January 20, 1987
On January 20, 1987 at about 10:55 pm local time, a Mooney M20C, registered N3496X, was destroyed in an accident near Highgate, Vermont (Franklin County airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed and 1 person was 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
- January 20, 1987 · about 10:55 pm local time
- Place
- Highgate, Vermont · Franklin County
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed and 1 person was seriously injured.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Mooney M20C · all M20Cs on the register
- Registration
- N3496X · no longer on the register · serial 3427
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
ACCORDING TO THE SURVIVING PAX, A SNOWSHOWER WAS ENCTRD, SO THE PLT REVERSED COURSE & DIVERTED TO ANOTHER ARPT. DRG A NGT APCH TO LND, THE PAX NOTED A WHITE LIGHT ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE RWY. (A VASI LIGHT SYS WAS INSTALLED FOR THAT RWY.) THE PLT ABORTED THE LNDG, BUT DRG A GO-AROUND, THE ACFT STRUCK TREETOPS APRX 1500' BEYOND THE DEP END OF THE RWY & CRASHED. NO PREIMPACT PART FAILURE OR MALFUCTION WAS EVIDENT. THE LNDG GEAR & GEAR HANDLE WERE FND IN THE DOWN PSN, THE FLAPS WERE IN A RETRACTED PSN & THE ENG CTLS WERE FND AT FULL POWER SETTINGS. ONLY 3.4 HRS OF THE PLT'S FLT TIME WAS RPRTD IN HI PERFORMANCE OR COMPLEX ACFT & NO ENDORSEMENT TO OPERATE SUCH ACFT WAS FND.
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
- Flight time: 141 hours in all; 67 in the last 90 days; 15 in the last 30 days; 71 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,200 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, October 1, 1986; 30 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,450 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming O-360 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: MPV Montpelier VT at 9:00 pm
- Destination: Montreal,Canada OF
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 1, 3,000 ft by 60 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, bright
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 25,000 ft; not recorded at 25,000 ft
- Temperature: 19°F (-7°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
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.