Mooney M20D N6628U accident near Clintwood, Virginia

Probable cause

The pilot’s continued visual flight into instrument meteorological conditions, which resulted in controlled flight into terrain.

NTSB analysis

Witnesses in the local area reported that they watched the airplane descend in a circle to get beneath clouds before continuing in its original direction. The airplane subsequently passed in and out of clouds before disappearing from sight. Another witness observed the airplane flying in a northerly direction toward a mountain ridge. The airplane then flew into a fog bank at the top of the mountain, and there was the sound of a crash. Examination of the wreckage did not reveal mechanical or flight control anomalies that may have contributed to the accident. The pilot had been under substantial stress in the months leading up to the accident, and had been complaining of symptoms of shoulder pain 1 month prior to the accident. He had been diagnosed with myasthenia gravis, a neuromuscular disorder, approximately 2 years prior to the accident, but was apparently in complete remission from the disease. It is unlikely that the myasthenia gravis was related to the accident, although the pilot may have been distracted by symptoms of stress or back pain.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for ERA09FA311 for the full record.