Mooney M20E N38AJ

Summary

On 19 January 2002 at about 22:20 local time, a Mooney M20E registered N38AJ was involved in an accident near Glasgow, Montana, 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

19 January 2002 at 22:20

Classification

Accident

Location

Glasgow, Montana, United States

Nearest airport

Wokal Field/Glasgow Intnl (GGW)

Coordinates

48.2117, -106.6150

Aircraft

Mooney M20E

Registration

N38AJ

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Glasgow → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

SEA02LA031

1 person had minor injuries.

The pilot's failure to maintain adequate flying airspeed resulting in a stall/mush condition and loss of control at low altitude. A contributing factor was the pilot's distraction from flying the aircraft while attempting to retract the landing gear.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot initiated his takeoff on runway 12 in the Mooney M20E and rotated at 60-65 MPH. He then raised the manually operated landing gear but had difficulty securing the gear retraction handle in the down (gear up and locked) position. During this event he became distracted with securing the gear in the up and locked position and the aircraft transitioned to a nose high and slow airspeed condition. A witness observed the aircraft reaching no more than 40-50 feet in altitude and rolling left. The pilot recognized this condition and pitched the nose down to increase airspeed. The aircraft impacted off the left side of the runway with its right wing, skidding across the runway and coming to rest on the south side of the runway; and the right wing displayed aft and upward bending with 45 degree scratch markings on its underside. Post crash examination revealed the gear retracted but not in the up and locked position. Wings level stall speed for a takeoff flap setting (15 degrees) in the M20E was documented in the Owner's Manual as 64 MPH.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.