Mooney M20C N3426X

Summary

On 20 October 1997 at about 20:45 local time, a Mooney M20C registered N3426X was involved in an accident near Hendersonville, North Carolina, United States. One person was 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

20 October 1997 at 20:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Hendersonville, North Carolina, United States

Nearest airport

Hendersonville (0A7)

Coordinates

35.3609, -82.5108

Aircraft

Mooney M20C

Registration

N3426X

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ATL98LA005

Nobody was injured.

The undetermined malfunction of the nose gear steering assembly that resulted in the loss of directional control during a full stop landing. A factor was the rough and uneven runway condition. .

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot said that on the second landing the airplane became difficult to control, veered off the left side of the runway, and begun to skid. During the skidding maneuver, the nose gear assembly was torn from the airframe, and the right main landing gear collapsed in the opposite direction of normal retraction. The pilot also reported that the runway surface had undergone several previous repairs, and the surface was rough and uneven. The airplane had touched down within the rough and uneven portion of the runway surface. The pilot stated that prior to the accident the airplane had under gone extensive maintenance to the nose gear assembly. The maintenance included the completion of a Mooney Service Bulletin (SB). The purpose of SB M20-202 is to provide instructions for checking the location of the nose wheel for optimum tracking during high speed ground operations. The pilot stated that the nose wheel steering linkage was replaced and that the nose wheel steering shock assembly was also removed in accordance with the airframe maintenance instructions. The pilot stated that the high speed nose wheel steering and controllability were more difficult after repairs than before the repairs were completed. The mechanic continued making adjustments to the nose gear in an effort to correct the steering problems. Nose gear repairs and adjustments failed to correct the high speed ground handling control problem.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.