Mooney M20F N9180V

Summary

On 8 July 2007 at about 20:02 local time, a Mooney M20F registered N9180V, operated by Leonard D. Watts, was involved in an accident near Brooks, Kentucky, United States. 4 people were on board and 2 died, 2 were seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

8 July 2007 at 20:02

Classification

Accident

Location

Brooks, Kentucky, United States

Nearest airport

Brooks Field (73KY)

Coordinates

38.0394, -85.7900

Aircraft

Mooney M20F

Registration

N9180V

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Leonard D. Watts

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Harrisburg → Louisville

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

NYC07FA159

2 people died.

The pilot's failure to maintain aircraft control during the aborted landing. Contributing to the accident was the exceedance of the airplane's maximum gross weight, and the pilot's inadequate preflight planning.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot of a Mooney M20F, with three passengers onboard, attempted to land on a 2,150-foot turf strip with trees at both ends. During the landing, the airplane touched down fast and the pilot aborted the landing. He then joined the traffic pattern for a second attempted landing. During the second landing, the airplane touched down 506 feet down the runway and the pilot aborted the landing again. A passenger could see the tops of the trees and then heard the engine increase in power. During this time the airplane was observed in a nose-high attitude. Moments later it impacted the ground in a nose-low attitude and tumbled before coming to rest. The investigation revealed that the airplane had landed at the wrong airport (the destination airport runway was 150 feet shorter, and also had trees at both ends of the runway), had been overweight prior to departing, and was most likely over its maximum allowable operating weight while landing. The investigation also revealed that a passenger seatbelt had not been secured properly. During the impact sequence, an attachment fitting had detached, releasing the occupant from their seat restraint.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.