Mooney M20 N6159E

Summary

On 13 December 1997 at about 20:00 local time, a Mooney M20 registered N6159E was involved in an accident near Pocahontas, Arkansas, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

13 December 1997 at 20:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Pocahontas, Arkansas, United States

Nearest airport

Nick Wilson Field (M70)

Coordinates

36.2609, -90.9602

Aircraft

Mooney M20

Registration

N6159E

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

FTW98LA082

Nobody was injured.

failure of the pilot to maintain directional control of the airplane during the takeoff roll, which resulted in an inadvertent ground swerve. A related factor was: the pilot's lack of recent experience in the make and model of airplane.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

During the takeoff roll, the Mooney M20 airplane 'suddenly' turned to the left, skidded sideways, went off the runway into the grass, and came to a stop in a drainage ditch. The pilot reported that he was initially able to correct for the left turn and bring the airplane back to the right side of the runway. However, at about this point, he 'may have inadvertently' applied the brakes. Subsequently, the airplane 'went into [a] skid sideways.' The private pilot had accumulated 135 hours of flight time, of which 13 hours were in a Mooney M20 airplane. He had made approximately 25 takeoffs and landings in the accident airplane; however, he had not flown the airplane during the 30 days preceding the accident.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.