Mooney M20E accident near Skyforest, California, January 17, 2018

The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record

The private pilot reported that, a few minutes after departure for a cross-country flight and as the airplane neared the top of a ridgeline, it encountered a downdraft, aerodynamically stalled, and then impacted terrain. One of the passengers reported hearing an aural tone, which was consistent with the stall warning horn, for several seconds before impact. Weight and balance calculations determined that the airplane was loaded near its maximum gross weight and had exceeded the forward center of gravity limit, which would have increased the airplane's stall speed during the accident flight. The calculated density altitude was about 6,550 ft, which likely reduced the available power and affected the climb rate. A video of the final moments of the accident flight showed the airplane about 25 ft above ground level when the airplane entered a high pitch attitude, followed immediately by a rapid descent, consistent with an aerodynamic stall. According to the pilot, the airplane was about 1,000 ft above terrain when it stalled; however, given the location of the camera and the pitch attitude that was observed, it is likely that the airplane was within about 50 ft of terrain as the airplane crested the ridgeline. The pilot should not have attempted to cross the ridgeline at such a low altitude; a higher altitude would have provided a clearance zone to avoid turbulence and downdrafts. The pilot's failure to cross at a higher altitude resulted in the airplane's encounter with a downdraft with insufficient altitude to recover from the stall. The pilot reported that there was no evidence of any preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

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.