Mooney M20K crashed near Springbank Airport, Calgary

[India Four Two]

The Mooney came down in a field near Springbank airport, west of Calgary. Two POB, one fatality and one serious injury.

Right wing completely missing.


https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/780x439/springbank_airport_crash_8340eebab47d26b29315b99709d453c7ffa 28735.jpeg

Based on the background in this telephoto image, the location appears to be about half a mile south of the threshold of 35, which is off to the right of the picture.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/fatal-plane-crash-springbank-west-calgary-1.6428441
https://www.aviation-safety.net/wikibase/277600

[Pilot DAR]

That was a hard hit, and the plane is not pointed in its direction of travel. I would wonder if the wing hit something at ground contact, but there's not much to hit there... Roadside pole?

[India Four Two]

PD,

More photos have been published. It went through the fence on the north side of Highway 1, which is a busy four-lane divided highway.

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/1020x576/springbank_airport_fatal_plane_crash_1_5872743_1650665334408 _bc4e380ef04e1858c7dd3ba2e726b6412fa68ed1.jpg
The right wing is behind the Mountie walking on the road.

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/1020x576/springbank_airport_fatal_plane_crash_1_5872821_1650667329094 _c5a767f6ea365341e2f0c4995ae2fc836e908cfd.jpg
Note you can see the ATC tower to the right of the fence post, in the photo above.

The Mooney was clearly very low as it crossed the highway. No mention of it hitting any vehicles, which was very lucky. There are no tall poles in this area. It looks like the damage was caused by the wing hitting the edge of the ditch on the side of the highway.

A TV report says this happened after takeoff. I don't know which of the four runways was in use, but I'm speculating that this was a turn back.

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/962x616/screen_shot_2022_04_22_at_8_20_40_pm_20cf1f522cf17639ab5df59 ccb0c5cfa40917c87.png

[fitliker]

Unusual to see the prop so far away from the plane . Bend indicates the possibility of the prop contacting something first .Gear ripped off or not lowered ? looks like a wheel not far from prop , caught on the fence ?

[India Four Two]

On close examination, it looks like there is a fork by the wheel, which would make it the nose wheel.

[RatherBeFlying]

Sad when there's highly survivable fields south of Hwy 1 had they chosen to land straight ahead.

[India Four Two]

I had the same thoughts. For the benefit of those who don’t know the area, all of those brown fields in the GE image, are “walk away from the crash” territory and most of them are probably “get to use the aircraft again” territory.

[India Four Two]

It turns out the Mooney was returning from a local flight and was on a straight-in approach to 35. More details including a link to the track here: https://www.aviation-safety.net/wikibase/277600

The pilot who died was being checked out by an instructor, who was seriously injured.

I have been told unverified rumours by local pilots that this particular Mooney had a history of engine-maintenance issues.

[India Four Two]

Final report. The crash was due to icing.

https://www.bst-tsb.gc.ca/eng/rapports-reports/aviation/2022/a22w0027/a22w0027.html

Photos taken by RCMP officers shortly after the crash:

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/1200x1420/a22w0027_figure_03_db18b693d7f26906ff75f7ce9736b687970b0df4. jpg


https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/1236x934/a22w0027_figure_04_5744e54b8a8ff528819b6aa1553f59c48b9d2b3f. jpg

[RatherBeFlying]

Kudos to RCMP for taking these photos before the ice melted:ok: