History of Flight
On July 19, 2014, about 1040 eastern daylight time, a Mooney M20F, N6467Q, was destroyed when it impacted terrain in North Elba, New York. The private pilot and two passengers were fatally injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The airplane was not operating on a flight plan, from Potsdam Municipal Airport (PTD), Potsdam, New York, to Lake Placid Airport (LKP), Lake Placid, New York. The personal flight was conducted under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91.
New York State Police interviews revealed that, on July 17, the pilot and his girlfriend departed their home airport in Parkersburg, West Virginia, spending the night in Nantucket, Massachusetts. They arrived at PTD on the afternoon of July 18, intending to spend the next two nights visiting his daughter. The pilot and his daughter decided to fly the next day, with the daughter bringing a friend from school. After dinner, the pilot familiarized himself online with the area. On the day of the accident, they left the hotel about 0900, expecting to return between 1400 and 1500.
According to a commercial (scenic flight) pilot at LKP, he was outside the administration building when he heard a radio transmission over the loud speaker, with the pilot identifying himself as "Mooney" and the last three identifiers of his airplane. The Mooney pilot was requesting an airport advisory. The commercial pilot advised that the winds were calm and no other traffic was reported. The Mooney pilot responded that he was inbound for landing on runway 14.
The commercial pilot later overheard the Mooney pilot saying he was seeing another airplane. Shortly after, he saw a locally-based airplane approach the airport, passing overhead from northwest to southeast and entering left traffic to land on runway 32. He then saw the Mooney approaching from the northwest.
About 5 minutes later, the commercial pilot heard over the loud speaker, "Lake Placid, Mooney, two mile final or short final runway one four." He heard the Mooney engine go to full power and saw the airplane pitching up at a steep angle while banking right, appearing as though the right wing may have struck the runway. The pilot seemed to recover, starting a shallow right turn and climbing along the right side of the runway.
As the Mooney continued to climb, the commercial pilot saw the local airplane about 100 to 200 feet over the trees, approaching from the opposite direction to land on runway 32. They appeared to see each other and each climbed to their right sides of the runway. The commercial pilot heard the Mooney pilot transmit something that sounded angry, followed later by a calmer transmission: "I will follow you in."
The commercial pilot watched the Mooney fly past the end of the runway with landing gear down, climbing at a steeper than normal angle at slow speed. The Mooney started a left turn, the nose dropped, and the airplane entered a counterclockwise spin toward the ground, descending so fast it did not complete a turn before going out of sight.
A witness near the impact site did not see the Mooney but heard the engine stop followed by a huge thud. Additional witnesses confirmed that the two airplanes went around after approaching from opposite directions, and described the Mooney's hard right turn, possible wing drag, and a subsequent stall/spin.
The local pilot, in a written statement, said he had departed LKP earlier on runway 32 and monitored UNICOM 122.8 MHz. On his return, he heard no transmissions and saw no traffic. He flew over the airport, saw the wind sock favoring runway 32, flew a left base leg, and turned onto final approach. He then saw another airplane that appeared to be departing runway 14, so he turned right and flew a left traffic pattern to land on runway 14. He noted he never heard any radio transmissions from any plane or UNICOM.
Personnel Information
The pilot, age 63, held a private pilot certificate with an airplane single-engine land rating. His latest FAA third-class medical certificate was issued on June 24, 2014. On his application, he indicated 729 hours of flight time. His logbook was charred; the latest flight review was logged one flight prior to a May 2, 2014, instrument proficiency check. The last flight logged was between two North Carolina airports, and the pilot had logged 729 total hours with time in make and model unknown.
Aircraft Information
The Mooney M20F was powered by a Lycoming IO-360 engine driving a two-bladed aluminum propeller. The aircraft logbook showed a total airframe time of 3,404 hours, total engine time the same, engine time since major overhaul 806 hours, and propeller time since new of 385 hours, as of the latest annual inspection on January 30, 2014. No flight data or cockpit voice recording devices were on board.
The other airplane, a 1946 Luscombe 8A, did not have an electrical system other than an ELT. It used a handheld battery-operated radio that the local pilot described as delivering varying degrees of performance and reliability. The radio was sensitive to movement and could malfunction. The pilot noted that after returning to Lake Placid at 3,000 feet, the radio seemed to be operating properly but received no transmissions pertinent to the airport. After adjustment, it was returned to its normal position and remained quiet.
Meteorological Information
Weather recorded at an airport 13 nautical miles northwest at 1051 included clear skies, visibility 10 statute miles, wind from 220 degrees true at 3 knots, and altimeter setting 30.28 inches of mercury.
Wreckage and Impact Information
The wreckage was located mostly on the side of a small levee about 075 degrees, 0.60 nautical miles from the center of LKP. Two damaged pine trees were found 30 feet from the main wreckage. Damage on the left tree was consistent with the left wingtip; damage on the right tree matched the propeller location. The airplane came to rest with the left wing and engine at the base of the levee and the right wing partially bent over the top. Ground marks and structural damage were consistent with a nose-left rotation at impact. The tail section was bent to the right. The occupants were removed prior to NTSB arrival. Extensive charring was noted in the cockpit, but no evidence of in-flight fire. All flight control surfaces were accounted for, and continuity was confirmed. Engine control positions could not be determined due to impact forces and postcrash fire.
The landing gear Johnson bar was found parallel to the instrument panel, consistent with the gear down. One main gear was partially extended, one fully extended; nose gear was destroyed. Flap positions could not be determined; the flap relief valve handle was found in the "Up" or "Release" position. The trim indicator was at the "Takeoff" position, and the flap indicator between "Landing" and "Takeoff." The propeller showed no significant torsional bending but had leading edge burnishing and chordwise markings consistent with sandy soil. The engine showed no preexisting mechanical anomalies; scoring on the starter Bendix and ring gear was consistent with attempting to pull the propeller through soil.
A wavy scrape mark about 17 feet long was found in the right half of the runway near a taxiway. However, the scrape veered left, inconsistent with the observed hard right turn. The right wingtip was pristine with no structural damage consistent with scraping the runway.
Medical and Pathological Information
An autopsy determined the cause of death as blunt force trauma. No significant natural disease was identified. Toxicological testing found metoprolol in urine and cavity blood; metoprolol is a beta-blocker used for hypertension and arrhythmias.