Mooney M20J down in Petaluma, CA O69

Wonder what happened...that location looks like a survivable landing spot. But there is no damage to the field behind the plane; it looks like he just dropped from the sky. Not computing right now. There was clearly also a fire, so that could have been the cause of the fatality, too. Almost seems as if the plane was traveling backward at the time of impact from the limited field damage I see. Spun in?

This one is close to home, and I've been out of O69 several times. RIP pilot.
 
The pilot was Carleton Henry Morrison, Jr., 3rd class medical 7/2017, instrument rated. Armen is right about the crash site; it looks like the plane just plopped down in the tall grass. The rudder and vertical stab look upright and undamaged. This is a strange one.

Screen grab from news video.
Mooney%20M20J%20Petaluma_zps1n08e03n.jpg
 
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I live about 15 miles from the crash site. Last night the weather was really heavy rains and winds. Very sad. Sounded like a veteran pilot with a huge family.


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The position of the plane suggests he was on the downwind departure from runway 29. Probably gliding distance from the runway. Rain and fog at the time. Almost seems like either a medical problem or perhaps spatial disorientation. He was an experienced pilot as well.

When these kind of accidents happen close to home it really makes you stop and think that it could happen to you too... RIP.
 
A Mooney can be busy on takeoff. If he was taking off into limited visibility and turbulent air, it could have become too much. Too much becomes less for a 75 year old than a 25 year old, something we should keep in mind as we continue to revolve around the sun.
 
Not sure if this has any bearing but the crash does indeed appear to be on the downwind leg. However, the IFR departure out of Petaluma is a climb straight out to 1500’ then a left turn (regular pattern is right traffic). This is to stay away from the hills east of the airport. From FlightAware it appears that he was planning on flying IFR.
 
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