Mooney M20C N5577Q

Summary

On 20 September 2006 at about 23:45 local time, a Mooney M20C registered N5577Q, operated by Ronald W. Bennett, was involved in an accident near Auburn, California, United States. One person was on board and one 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

20 September 2006 at 23:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Auburn, California, United States

Nearest airport

Auburn Municipal (AUN)

Coordinates

38.9547, -121.0817

Aircraft

Mooney M20C

Registration

N5577Q

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Ronald W. Bennett

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Auburn → Riverside

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX06LA298

1 person had minor injuries.

the fatigue failure of the elevator's control rod due to inadequate lubrication. Contributing factors were the inadequate maintenance and the owner-pilot's failure to comply with an airworthiness directive.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

Seconds after taking off, the pilot experienced a total loss of pitch control 30 to 50 feet above ground level. The airplane pitched uncontrollably upward, and the pilot aborted the climb. During the forced landing, the airplane impacted hard on the remaining available runway. An examination of the airplane's elevator control system revealed its push-pull control rod was broken in the empennage, with the fracture features indicative of fatigue. The control rod's adjacent end bearing was found seized; it would not pivot/rotate at its attachment location in the bell crank assembly. The bearing was corroded and devoid of lubrication. When the bearing seized, the attached control rod was bent and flexed repeatedly until failing in fatigue. In 1973 the FAA issued Airworthiness Directive number 73-21-01, which required recurring lubrication of all flight control systems at yearly intervals and 100 hours time in service to prevent corrosion in the flight control systems that might result in binding or seizure of the joints and loss of flight control. The accident airplane was manufactured in 1965, and its total time was 5,638 hours. Its last annual inspection had been performed 8 1/2 months and about 148 hours prior to the accident. Maintenance records indicated that the airplane had been operated 48 hours beyond the 100-hour limit without evidence of the requisite lubrication.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.