Mooney Aircraft Accident Nampa, ID

[65MooneyPilot]

https://asn.flightsafety.org/wikibase/530595 

My heart goes out to the family of those onboard.

[Schllc]

Yet another reminder of consequences of

“the turn”….

I sure hope I never have to make that decision. 
rip….

[Falcon Man]

When I was flying the "C" models in the Idaho backcountry many decades ago, one of my instructors told me to know the terrain and pick a spot ahead of the departure path where I would put down if "Murphy" enters the flight. I try and follow this rule, especially. if departing an unfamiliar field.

This very sad accident is a reminder for me to always follow his rule. 

[Mooney in Oz]

4 hours ago, Schllc said:

Yet another reminder of consequences of

“the turn”….

I sure hope I never have to make that decision. 
rip….

It is the consequences of the impossible turn at 200 feet.

I have practiced this a few times and the best I can do is 700 feet. I know some here have said they can do 500 feet. You also have to consider obstructions such as tree heights on your return path. My personal margin is 1000 feet and a clear path.

2 hours ago, Falcon Man said:

one of my instructors told me to know the terrain and pick a spot ahead of the departure path where I would put down if "Murphy" enters the flight. I try and follow this rule, especially. if departing an unfamiliar field.

^^^This is the better option^^^

Have a plan before take off and treat every one with the expectation of an engine failure because time is not on your side.

.

[1980Mooney]

Very sad indeed.  The LLC owner is a 43 year old in Eagle, Idaho.  He got his Private on 6/28/2024.  He purchased the 1984 M20J  fairly recently - it was registered in his LLC on February 28, 2024 when he lived in Fresno, CA.  The Mooney, which was sold in Florida, arrived in Fresno on April 2, 2024.  https://globe.adsbexchange.com/?icao=a7679f&lat=34.836&lon=-118.303&zoom=7.4&showTrace=2024-04-02&trackLabels&timestamp=1753659666

This appears to be the ad at the time of sale N5764H | 1984 MOONEY M20J 201 on Aircraft.com

On August 5, 2024 he relocated it to Nampa, Idaho  https://globe.adsbexchange.com/?icao=a7679f&lat=40.863&lon=-118.532&zoom=7.2&showTrace=2024-08-05&trackLabels&timestamp=1753659666

The family has posted that the pilot, his wife and young child perished in the crash.  Woman originally from Kingsburg killed in Idaho plane crash with husband and baby

The Coroner reports that the boy was 23 months old.  Coroner IDs 23-month-old boy as Idaho plane crash victim | Idaho Statesman

The Mooney never got above 69 knots on the 5,000 ft. runway at Nampa.  He got to about 325 ft AGL in the turn back before stalling.

https://globe.adsbexchange.com/?icao=a7679f&lat=43.586&lon=-116.538&zoom=17.7&showTrace=2025-07-27&trackLabels&timestamp=1753659661

Tragic.   Something to think about every time you take off with your family.  I didn't used to think about it much when the family was young.  Now, older and family grown, I think about a lot more.  Flying is not as fun as it used to be.

 

[Skates97]

1 hour ago, Mooney in Oz said:

It is the consequences of the impossible turn at 200 feet.

I have practiced this a few times and the best I can do is 700 feet. I know some here have said they can do 500 feet. You also have to consider obstructions such as tree heights on your return path. My personal margin is 1000 feet and a clear path.

^^^This is the better option^^^

Have a plan before take off and treat every one with the expectation of an engine failure because time is not on your side.

.

I practiced it with my instructor and consider 900' my minimum to allow for startle factor. The really eye-opening part of it is how much you are looking at the ground as you come around to keep your speed up. It was much more nose down than I expected. Every takeoff I brief an abort point on the runway if I am not at 60mph, option immediately following takeoff (somewhere ahead), and traffic pattern altitude -100' as "able to turn back."

[Schllc]

Wow, if you couldn’t top 69 knots on/over the runway, why would you even try to take off ?

[dkkim73]

Very sobering. That is sad, such a young family. Probably new to and excited about aviation. 
RIP

Those are pretty low speeds. I wonder if there was an issue with partial power that lulled the pilot into continuing the takeoff. I agree with @Schllc, those speeds in the final 3rd of the runway get your attention. 

[Ragsf15e]

I know you should go ~straight if you loose power low, but some places there is a lot of pressure to turn.  I haven’t flown into Nampa but I’ve seen it, and I don’t think there’s many fields off at least one end.  Mostly light industrial and housing.  My home airport is like that too (ksff). I hope I never have to deal with that.

[bmcconnaha]

42 minutes ago, Ragsf15e said:

I know you should go ~straight if you loose power low, but some places there is a lot of pressure to turn.  I haven’t flown into Nampa but I’ve seen it, and I don’t think there’s many fields off at least one end.  Mostly light industrial and housing.  My home airport is like that too (ksff). I hope I never have to deal with that.

Same. I’m based out of SFF now and hope I never have to face an engine out there. 

[1980Mooney]

1 minute ago, Schllc said:

Wow, if you couldn’t top 69 knots on/over the runway, why would you even try to take off ?

True.  Lack of experience could cause indecision until it is too late.  With enough experience in one's own plane - you may sense something is not right - feel, sound, response.    Elevation at Nampa is 2,537 ft.  Temp was 88 F at the time.  I don't know the baro.  This was a 5,000 ft runway.  Still plenty of runway to take off or put it down if not right.  And looking at the map and charts there appears to be about an additional 600 ft overrun before hitting the perimeter fence. 

Hindsight is perfect.  The same thing killed McSpadden.

[Andy95W]

3 hours ago, Schllc said:

Wow, if you couldn’t top 69 knots on/over the runway, why would you even try to take off ?

SLOJ- Sudden Loss of Judgement- where everything looks perfectly normal until all of a sudden, it doesn’t.  Descriptor of a person who normally exhibits good, sound judgement and doesn’t notice that things have already turned south.

There but for the Grace of God go I…

[Ragsf15e]

2 hours ago, bmcconnaha said:

Same. I’m based out of SFF now and hope I never have to face an engine out there. 

KCOE is much better except my hanger is at Felts…

[DCarlton]

Unless there’s water in the fuel, I can’t help but wonder what would cause a failure immediately after a good taxi and run up.  All around tragic.  

[MikeOH]

From the ADSB data it looks like his ground roll was close to 2500 feet; at 29.93, 88F, FE 2537, ground roll should have been under 1500 feet!  (And that's assuming gross weight)

Forced it into the air and never got to best angle, let alone rate, of climb airspeed.  Backside of the power curve...

As others have speculated, he may not have had enough experience to feel the plane was not developing proper power.

[201er]

7 hours ago, DCarlton said:

Unless there’s water in the fuel, I can’t help but wonder what would cause a failure immediately after a good taxi and run up.  All around tragic.  

Might not even be a mechanical failure. Could be milking the edge of a stall at high weight and DA the whole way. Not gonna climb if you’re too slow. Rotating out of ground effect prematurely without letting the speed build and the continued panic of not climbing can cause a pilot to keep pulling back and hanging on the edge of stall. It’s not gonna climb.

[Steve Dawson]

Just a thought since it was at a 2500ft elevation and reasonably hot, Could he have forgotten to enrich the fuel mixture at takeoff after leaning it during taxi? 

 

[SARNorm]

I landed at Nampa yesterday and heard about the crash. One of the FBO guys said that a CFI watched what happened and that the airplane used most of the runway to get airborne and then never retracted the gear. Density altitude and correct mixture setting may be contributing factors. 

[Jackk]

7 minutes ago, SARNorm said:

I landed at Nampa yesterday and heard about the crash. One of the FBO guys said that a CFI watched what happened and that the airplane used most of the runway to get airborne and then never retracted the gear. Density altitude and correct mixture setting may be contributing factors. 

Used all the runway for ground roll or total?

I’d imagine the outcome I know the answer

Especially in summer I don’t like to leave any runway behind, takeoff, stay in low ground effect as long as I can, pitch for VX or VY as appropriate.  

also 50/75 rule, if ya ain’t 75% of liftoff speed by 50% of the runway, REJECT
 

 Based on his speeds I’d speculate ether significant engine issues or he kept trying to yank it off the runway.

 

 

Edited July 29 by Jackk

[Echo]

My last departure on 3500 feet runway with temps in high 80s and minimal wind had my attention. It was only me two dogs and 40 gallons of fuel but plane was doggy.  That was at 1000 feet less altitude than this incident. Density altitude combined with being close to gross weight is a  recipe for disaster. Fly safe, everyone.

[Jackk]

Think I replicated this in foreflight performance with the said conditions and plane right near gross 

 

[Pinecone]

4 hours ago, 201er said:

Might not even be a mechanical failure. Could be milking the edge of a stall at high weight and DA the whole way. Not gonna climb if you’re too slow. Rotating out of ground effect prematurely without letting the speed build and the continued panic of not climbing can cause a pilot to keep pulling back and hanging on the edge of stall. It’s not gonna climb.

That is what I am thinking.  Even in the turn he was level or even climbed a bit.  He was still at 2800 at the last hit before impact.

[EricJ]

3 hours ago, Steve Dawson said:

Just a thought since it was at a 2500ft elevation and reasonably hot, Could he have forgotten to enrich the fuel mixture at takeoff after leaning it during taxi? 

This is why if you do lean for ground operations to pull it WAY back to nearly idle cutoff.    That way it essentially won't run near WOT and will force you to enrich the mixture.

There could have been other things wrong that prevented making full power.   I don't know if it's known whether the airplane had recent maintenance or not.   Very tragic in any case.

[MikeOH]

1 hour ago, Jackk said:

Think I replicated this in foreflight performance with the said conditions and plane right near gross 

 

Yuup. I used the J POH graphs and came up with a bit under 1500 feet ground roll. You're showing 1,353 feet, so pretty consistent.  With a 5000 foot runway and lift off not until 2500...something was wrong.  I think it's more than just density altitude (which I think is around 5100 feet)...failing to lean shouldn't have been THAT bad. Maybe too lean? (Failing to enrich after taxi as @EricJ implied)

Maybe over gross, but even with full fuel a wife and baby should not have been close.  Maybe carrying a ton of baggage?

[DCarlton]

26 minutes ago, EricJ said:

This is why if you do lean for ground operations to pull it WAY back to nearly idle cutoff.    That way it essentially won't run near WOT and will force you to enrich the mixture.

There could have been other things wrong that prevented making full power.   I don't know if it's known whether the airplane had recent maintenance or not.   Very tragic in any case.

A bit of a tangent... if you're at a very high DA airport, and you richen full at takeoff, are you making significantly less power (enough to effect take off performance) than you would if you were at the proper fuel / air ratio?  Obviously you're wasting fuel.