Mooney M20K accident near Dufur, Oregon, January 24, 1983
On January 24, 1983 at about 5:00 pm local time, a Mooney M20K, registered N97429, was substantially damaged in an accident near Dufur, Oregon (The Dalles airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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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 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 24, 1983 · about 5:00 pm local time
- Place
- Dufur, Oregon · The Dalles · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Mooney M20K · all M20Ks on the register
- Registration
- N97429 · registry record · serial 25-0512
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE AIRCRAFT COLLIDED WITH AN IRRIGATION PIPE LINE AND FENCE DURING ROLLOUT OF A FORCED LANDING AFTER ENGINE FAILURE. THE ENGINE STOPPED WHILE THE AIRCRAFT WAS CRUISING EN ROUTE. THE PILOT REMAINED IN RADIO CONTACT THROUGHOUT THE EMERGENCY AND LANDED IN A FIELD OF GRAIN STUBBLE AND NEW CROPS. AN ENGINE TEARDOWN REVEALED A HOLE IN THE #4 PISTON. THIS HOLE HAD PRESSURIZED THE CRANKCASE FORCING OIL OUT OF THE BREATHER UNTIL OIL DEPLETION CAUSED ENGINE STOPPAGE. ALSO, A TRACE OF CARBON TRACKING WAS FOUND ON THE RIGHT DISTRIBUTOR BLOCK FROM THE #4 LOCATION TO ANOTHER STATIONARY ELECTRODE.
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: airline transport pilot, flight instructor
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 4,286 hours in all; 7 in this make and model; 170 in the last 90 days; 72 in the last 30 days; 4,088 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 332 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, October 21, 1982; 37 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,740 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental TSIO-360-GB1 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: SLE Salem OK at 4:30 pm
- Destination: PSC Pasco WA
- Flight plan: IFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 25 statute miles
- Sky: not recorded; scat
- Temperature: 45°F (7°C), dew point 45°F (7°C)
- Observation at 4:00 pm from SLE, 100 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 SEA83FYM04.