NTSB Factual Report

On February 12, 2018, about 1913 Pacific standard time, a M20K Mooney airplane, N123JN, was destroyed after impacting terrain on Chuckanut Mountain near Bellingham, Washington, while on a visual flight rules (VFR) approach to Bellingham International Airport (BLI). The private pilot sustained fatal injuries. The airplane was registered to Flying Llama LLC and operated by the pilot as a 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 visual flight rules personal flight. Night visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident, and no flight plan was filed. The flight departed Harvey Field (S43), Snohomish, Washington, at about 1851, and was destined for BLI.

According to a statement provided to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC) by the co-owner of the airplane, the purpose of the flight was to reposition the airplane from S43 to BLI for maintenance repairs to the cowl flaps and engine data monitor turbine inlet temperature (TIT) sensor. The distance to the destination was about 56 nm.

Preliminary radar and voice communication from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) indicate that the airplane departed S43 at 1851 and climbed to about 4,300 feet on a course to the north-northwest. At about 1907, the airplane commenced a slow decent rate of about 300 fpm and continued the descent at rates between 300 and 600 fpm until impact. At about 1910, the pilot called BLI air traffic control tower and reported his position about 14 miles south of the airport. BLI tower control issued clearance for a visual flight rules (VFR) approach to runway 34 and requested a radio report at 3 miles. There were no further radio communications from the pilot. The preliminary radar data indicated the last recorded position at time 1913 was 9 miles south of the airport on a course of 336°, altitude of 1975 feet and groundspeed of 146 knots. At time 2122 the FAA issued an alert notice (ALNOT) due to numerous reports of an emergency locator transmitter (ELT) signal in the area.

At about 2200, search parties from the Whatcom County Sheriff's office and U.S. Custom and Border Patrol located the wreckage on the north side of Chuckanut Mountain in Larrabee State Park above Fragrance Lake.

The NTSB investigator-in-charge and FAA aviation safety inspectors reached the accident site on the afternoon of February 13. The accident site was located on the north face of the mountain in an area of dense forest and undergrowth with no lighted structures. Large portions of the fragmented airplane were scattered along a debris path which started at the ridgeline above the Cyrus Gates Overlook and oriented along a magnetic heading of 328 °. The debris field was about 1,200 feet in length and 100 feet wide. The, wings, empennage, fuselage, propeller, cockpit and engine were each located in separate locations and exhibited extensive impact damage.

An area believed to be the initial impact point was marked by a broken tree top located at the top of the east-west running ridge. The top 15 feet of a 50-foot tree with fresh lengthwise fractures, was located laying in the direction of the wreckage. Other tree top debris was also located along the north side of the ridge. The first identifiable piece of wreckage was the outer portion of the right wing which exhibited a 12-inch leading edge elliptical impact area with tree scrapings in the paint. The left wing was located about 85 feet from the right wing and exhibited similar elliptical impact areas on the leading edge and near the wing root. The empennage and rudder were located down hill in the overlook parking lot. The left horizontal stabilizer had one large elliptical impact area on the leading edge. The fuselage, tail cone and propeller were located downhill on Cleater Road. A large tree about 10 inches in diameter was laying down in the center of the debris. The tail cone was separated from the crushed and fragmented fuselage. The cockpit, which separated into two sections, and the engine were located downhill and were the last two major pieces of debris. The wreckage will be recovered and retained for further examination.

The pilot's logbook indicated that he logged a total of 760.1 flight hours, of which 57 hours were in M20 airplanes. He was issued an FAA time limited Third Class Special Issuance medical certificate on October 4, 2017, that was due to expire on October 31, 2018, due to conditions related to coronary heart disease and sleep apnea.