Mooney M20K N1157K

Summary

On 12 September 2008 at about 01:45 local time, a Mooney M20K registered N1157K, operated by Wings Aloft, was involved in an accident near Trinity Center, California, 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

12 September 2008 at 01:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Trinity Center, California, United States

Nearest airport

Trinity Center (O86)

Coordinates

40.9828, -122.6936

Aircraft

Mooney M20K

Registration

N1157K

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Wings Aloft

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Burbank → Medford

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

SEA08CA202

Nobody was injured.

The complete loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion as a result of a leak in the fuel system. Contributing to the accident was the rough terrain the airplane encountered during the forced landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

At an undetermined point in time, the bracket that supported the fuel flow transducer for the airplane’s fuel monitoring system failed. This allowed the transducer to vibrate, and ultimately lead to the loosening of the B-nut on the fuel line leading to the transducer. Because the B-nut became almost completely disconnected from the transducer, approximately 40 gallons of fuel was lost overboard during the flight. Because the leak was upstream of the transducer, the fuel management system did not detect or display the loss of fuel, and the engine ultimately lost power due to fuel exhaustion. The pilot executed a forced landing at a non-controlled airport, but intentionally exited the side of the runway surface when it appeared that the airplane could not stop prior to departing the end of the runway and encountering a steep drop-off. After the airplane exited the side of the runway, it entered rough terrain and experienced a collapse of the left main landing gear. The collapse of the gear resulted in substantial damage to both the left wing and the aft fuselage.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.