Accident Details
On June 12, 2012, at approximately 1520 central daylight time, a Mooney M20F, registration N6455Q, sustained substantial damage when it impacted terrain during initial climb after takeoff from Hooker Municipal Airport (O45) in Hooker, Oklahoma. The private pilot and a non-pilot passenger were seriously injured. The airplane was registered to West Coast Properties, LLC, of Cheyenne, Wyoming, and was operated by the pilot under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. Day visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed. The flight was destined for an unknown airport near Minneapolis, Minnesota.
The pilot reported that during initial climb, there was a sudden partial loss of power. The pilot retracted the landing gear, and control was lost as the airplane began drifting to the left and stalled. The airplane impacted in a nose-down attitude on the nose and both wing tips, coming to rest upright in an agricultural field approximately 900 feet southeast of the runway departure end. A significant fuel spill occurred, but there was no postimpact fire. A postaccident examination of the airframe and engine revealed no evidence of mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation.
Toxicology Findings
Routine postaccident toxicology testing was performed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Civil Aerospace Medical Institute. The pilot's blood specimen, obtained about four hours after the accident, contained amphetamine (0.11 ug/ml) and methamphetamine (0.787 ug/ml). Urine specimens obtained at the same time contained amphetamine (15.708 ug/ml) and methamphetamine (133.847 ug/ml), along with ephedrine, fentanyl, morphine, ondansetron, phenylpropanolamine, and pseudoephedrine. Methamphetamine is a Schedule II controlled substance used medically for attention deficit disorder and narcolepsy, but also abused as a street drug. Amphetamine is its primary active metabolite. Ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, and phenylpropanolamine are over-the-counter treatments for nasal congestion and appetite suppression, but no single preparation contains all three; each is used in illegal methamphetamine production. Fentanyl, morphine, and ondansetron were administered at the hospital that provided postaccident care.
Weather Conditions
At 1515, the automated weather reporting station at Liberal Mid-America Regional Airport (KLBL), Liberal, Kansas, located 17 miles northeast of the accident site, reported wind from 140 degrees at 24 knots with gusts to 32 knots, visibility of 10 miles or greater, sky clear, temperature 30°C, dew point 9°C, and an altimeter setting of 30.10 inches of mercury.