Mooney M20E accident near Brooksville, Kentucky, April 17, 1999
On April 17, 1999 at about 9:30 pm local time, a Mooney M20E, registered N1987Y, was substantially damaged in an accident near Brooksville, Kentucky. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
Contaminated fuel which resulted in the forced landing, and a heart attack from an adrenaline rush that interacted with preexisting coronary disease which resulted in the pilot's death.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 17, 1999 · about 9:30 pm local time
- Place
- Brooksville, Kentucky · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Mooney M20E · all M20Es on the register
- Registration
- N1987Y · registry record · serial 274
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot purchased the airplane on the day of the accident, and added 45 gallons of fuel to it. He took four samples of fuel from the left tank before it was free of water. No contamination was found in the right tank. After takeoff the engine ran rough and the pilot returned to the airfield. On the ground the engine smoothed out, and the pilot departed again, stopped once for minor maintenance, then continued on. En route, the fuel pressure dropped, and the engine began running rough again. The pilot could not maintain altitude, and executed a forced landing to a road. The pilot deplaned, talked to several people, and made a telephone call. Afterwards, the pilot said he felt cold and faint, then collapsed, and could not be revived. During inspection of the airplane's fuel system, about 3 ounces of dirty water were drained from the left wing. Fuel from the right wing was free of contaminants. Fuel injector lines initially produced fuel that was rust-colored, with water in it. Filtered fuel left a pink, paraffin-like residue. An autopsy revealed the pilot had an enlarged heart, and severe coronary arteriosclerosis with arteriosclerotic heart disease.
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: 9,860 hours in all
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,600 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, April 5, 1999; 2 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,575 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming IO-360 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 74D Moundsville WV at 7:25 pm
- Destination: LOU Louisville KY
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 250° at 9 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 1,500 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 43°F (6°C), dew point 39°F (4°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 9:54 pm from CVG, 35 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.
Other NTSB records under N1987Y the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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 NYC99LA093.