Mooney M20C N9744M

Summary

On 27 July 1998 at about 14:50 local time, a Mooney M20C registered N9744M, operated by Flight Training Center, Inc., was involved in an accident near Vernon, Texas, United States. One person was 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

27 July 1998 at 14:50

Classification

Accident

Location

Vernon, Texas, United States

Nearest airport

Wilbarger County (F05)

Coordinates

34.1408, -99.3002

Aircraft

Mooney M20C

Registration

N9744M

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Flight Training Center, Inc.

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Denver → Denton

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

FTW99LA025

Nobody was injured.

Fatigue cracking of the propeller blade which originated from corrosion pitting on its camber side, resulting in the blade tip separation during cruise flight.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The propeller blade separated during cruise flight and the aircraft started 'shaking violently.' The pilot pulled the mixture control to idle-cut-off and put the aircraft into a steep climb to stop the propeller. The pilot then diverted to an airport where he landed safely. The remainder of the blade was sent to the NTSB Materials Laboratory in Washington, D.C. A detailed examination of the fractured surface revealed crack arrest positions characteristic of fatigue cracking. Examination of the fatigue crack with a scanning electron microscope (SEM) revealed that corrosion pitting on the camber side of the blade was the origin of the fatigue crack. The propeller was last overhauled on November 16, 1989, and the last annual inspection was completed on January 1, 1998.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.