Mooney M20F N7114V

Summary

On 29 June 1999 at about 16:40 local time, a Mooney M20F registered N7114V was involved in an accident near Liberty, North Carolina, 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

29 June 1999 at 16:40

Classification

Accident

Location

Liberty, North Carolina, United States

Nearest airport

Causey Airport (2A5)

Coordinates

35.8496, -79.5694

Aircraft

Mooney M20F

Registration

N7114V

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Newport News → Mooresville

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

MIA99LA191

Nobody was injured.

Improper inspection of the muffler assembly resulting in erosion going undetected and the rupture of the muffler and shroud while in cruise flight. The condition caused melting of portions of the air induction system, loss of engine power, and the pilot's attempted forced landing that resulted in collision with terrain that sheared one main landing gear and fractured the wheel of the other main landing gear. A factor in the accident was the pilot's obscured vision due to smoke in the cockpit.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The flight was in cruise at 6,500 feet msl, when the engine started to run rough. Two to three minutes later the engine stopped operating, and the pilot requested vectors to the nearest airport. While setting himself up for a forced landing, the cabin filled with smoke, and the pilot cracked open the cabin door to evacuate the smoke. The airplane touched down short of the runway and sustained main landing gear damage. Postcrash examination revealed muffler and muffler shroud breaching that allowed engine exhaust to impinge on and burn components of the nose landing gear, the air induction system, and the lower fuselage. NTSB Materials Laboratory examination revealed the muffler failed due to scaling and intergranular attack occurring over a period of time that would have been evident 30 flight hours previous when the airplane underwent an annual inspection.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.