Mooney M20J N3201P

Summary

On 16 April 1982 at about 21:50 local time, a Mooney M20J registered N3201P, operated by L. Myron Yarger, was involved in an accident near Bird Island, Minnesota, United States. 3 people were on board and 3 died. The aircraft was destroyed. No probable cause statement is available for this record.

Date

16 April 1982 at 21:50

Classification

Accident

Location

Bird Island, Minnesota, United States

Coordinates

44.7592, -94.8895

Aircraft

Mooney M20J

Registration

N3201P

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

L. Myron Yarger

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Business

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Thief River Fal → New Ulm

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CHI82FA123

3 people died.

The NTSB has not published a probable cause for this record. No probable cause statement is present in the source data.

Nothing about the cause is stated here that is not in the source record.

Read the full NTSB narrative

THE AIRCRAFT DEPARTED THIEF RIVERS, MN AND PROCEEDED EN ROUTE TO NEW ULM, MN. ONE WITNESS NEAR THE ACCIDENT SITE HEARD A NOISE THAT SOUNDED TO HIM LIKE AN EXPLOSION. HE AND OTHER WITNESSES IN THE VICINITY SAW THE AIRCRAFT DESCENDING OUT OF CONTROL IN A ROLL OR A SPIN BEFORE IT CRASHED. ALSO, THEY SAW TWO OBJECTS FALLING FROM THE AIRCRAFT, ONE SMALL AND ONE LARGE. AN INVESTIGATION REVEALED THAT A PROPELLER BLADE, AND THEN THE ENGINE, HAD SEPARATED IN FLIGHT. THE PROPELLER BLADE WAS FOUND ABOUT TWO WEEKS LATER APPROXIMATELY 1/4 MILE LEFT OF THE FLIGHT PATH. AN EXAMINATION REVEALED THAT THE PROPELLER BLADE HAD FAILED FROM FATIGUE CRACKING. THE FATIGUE ORIGINATED FROM A 1/16 INCH DEEP FORGING FOLD IN THE SURFACE OF THE BLADE NEAR THE BUTT END. THE PROPELLER, A MCCAULEY MODEL 90DHB-16E, HAD 340 HRS TOTAL FLIGHT TIME.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.