Mooney M20F N6492Q

Summary

On 6 April 1997 at about 21:15 local time, a Mooney M20F registered N6492Q was involved in an accident near Marietta, Oklahoma, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

6 April 1997 at 21:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Marietta, Oklahoma, United States

Nearest airport

McGehee Restaurant (T40)

Coordinates

33.9309, -97.1210

Aircraft

Mooney M20F

Registration

N6492Q

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Unknown → Fort Worth

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

FTW97LA153

2 people had minor injuries.

The pilot's inadequate short field takeoff. A factor was the pilot's lack of recent experience in short field takeoffs from a grass/turf runway.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

During the takeoff, the airplane was 'at low speed with approximately 10 degrees of flaps and flew for about 5 seconds before veering to the right.' The pilot tried to realign the airplane with the runway; however, the left main gear struck the side of the runway and the airplane came to rest in a ravine along the side of the runway. The pilot stated that this accident could have been prevented by 'minimiz[ing] time spent in ground effect when taking off on a windy day (and gusty day) from grass runways.' The pilot reported that he had 38.2 hours in the M20F airplane; however, he had never done a short field takeoff from a grass/turf runway in this airplane.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.