Mooney M20K N5659L

Summary

On 14 October 2003 at about 21:56 local time, a Mooney M20K registered N5659L was involved in an accident near Grand Junction, Colorado, 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

14 October 2003 at 21:56

Classification

Accident

Location

Grand Junction, Colorado, United States

Nearest airport

Walker Field (GJT)

Coordinates

39.1222, -108.5267

Aircraft

Mooney M20K

Registration

N5659L

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Grand Junction → Grand Junction

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

DEN04LA010

Nobody was injured.

the pilot's improper flare and his failure to maintain airspeed resulting in a stall and hard landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

According to the pilot, he had completed an uneventful touch-and-go landing on runway 29 using an approach speed of 67 knots. On the second touch-and-go landing, he used an approach speed of 70 knots. He stated that the airplane's airspeed was stable around the pattern. However, just short of the runway, at approximately 30 feet agl, he encountered a slight "burble." He initiated full power, and when he dropped the nose of the airplane a few degrees, he encountered a second "burble." The pilot stated that "the airplane literally fell out of the sky" and struck the runway. The impact with the runway separated the right main landing gear and the separated right main landing gear struck the right horizontal stabilizer. The nose landing gear collapsed, the right wing tip and propeller struck the runway, and the airplane slid approximately 150 feet. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right wing spar and the right horizontal stabilizer. The reported weather conditions at 1553 and 1604, indicated a shift in wind, from 310 degrees at 5 knots to 280 degrees at 8 knots respectively.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.