Mooney M20E N7837V

Summary

On 3 July 2007 at about 19:00 local time, a Mooney M20E registered N7837V was involved in an accident near Winnsboro, South Carolina, United States. 2 people were 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

3 July 2007 at 19:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Winnsboro, South Carolina, United States

Coordinates

34.3153, -81.1086

Aircraft

Mooney M20E

Registration

N7837V

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Columbia → Winnsboro

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

NYC07LA157

Nobody was injured.

A loss of engine power due to contamination within the fuel injector servo, which was not detected during a recent inadequate annual inspection.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

A certified flight instructor (CFI) was flying with a commercial pilot who was receiving dual flight instruction towards a flight instructor certificate. After practicing a simulated engine failure, the airplane was in cruise flight at an altitude of 2,200 feet msl, when the engine rpm suddenly dropped to 800 rpm. The CFI was not able to restore engine power, and performed a forced landing to a field. During the landing, the airplane's left wing struck a tree stump and was substantially damaged. During a post-accident test run, the engine ran rough, with intermittent surges. After the fuel injector servo was removed and a replacement installed, the engine ran smoothly through 2,500 rpm. Subsequent examination of the fuel injector servo revealed that the fuel inlet screen had more than 50 percent of its exterior surface covered in light brown corrosion/contamination, and two-thirds of the inlet fitting was blocked by debris. In addition, contamination was noted throughout the fuel servo. The airplane had been operated for about 5 hours since its most recent annual inspection, which was performed about 3 months prior to the accident. The airplane manufacture's annual inspection guidelines included inspecting the fuel injection system, and cleaning the screens per the engine manufacturer's recommendations.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.