Mooney M20F N353JT

Summary

On 18 July 2003 at about 20:35 local time, a Mooney M20F registered N353JT was involved in an accident near Kerrville, Texas, 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

18 July 2003 at 20:35

Classification

Accident

Location

Kerrville, Texas, United States

Nearest airport

Kerrville Municipal Airport (ERV)

Coordinates

29.9767, -99.0856

Aircraft

Mooney M20F

Registration

N353JT

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

San Angelo → San Antonio

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

FTW03LA188

2 people had minor injuries.

The loss of engine power due to the failure of the number three cylinder as the result of undertorqued cylinder bolts. A contributing factor was the lack of suitable terrain for the forced landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The 6,533-hour pilot reported that the engine developed a vibration during cruise flight. The pilot suspected a runaway propeller, and elected to shut down the engine. During the forced landing, the airplane went through a fence and impacted terrain. Examination of the engine revealed that the number three cylinder had separated from the 200 horsepower Lycoming engine. Metallurgical evaluation by the NTSB Materials Laboratory revealed that the crankcase bolts were found to be fractured from stress fatigue cracking, and concluded that fatigue failure on cylinder mounting hardware is usually the result of insufficient torque loading.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.