Mooney M20J N4398H

Summary

On 7 April 2005 at about 00:00 local time, a Mooney M20J registered N4398H was involved in an accident near Rocky Hill, New Jersey, 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

7 April 2005 at 00:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Rocky Hill, New Jersey, United States

Nearest airport

Princeton Airport (39N)

Coordinates

40.3992, -74.6589

Aircraft

Mooney M20J

Registration

N4398H

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Wildwood → Rocky Hill

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Night

NTSB number

IAD05LA053

1 person had minor injuries.

The pilot's failure to maintain airspeed during a go-around, which resulted in an inadvertent stall, and subsequent impact with terrain. Factors included the night lighting conditions, and the airplane approaching the opposite runway.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

On the short final leg of the approach to the destination airport, the pilot observed an airplane at the opposite end of the runway and initiated a go-around. He turned the airplane right, applied full power, and retracted the landing gear, flaps and speed brakes. As he was attempting to adjust the elevator trim in a nose down direction, and was holding forward pressure on the control yoke, the airplane "stalled," and the airplane impacted the ground. When asked how the accident could have been prevented, the pilot stated, "I should have done a go-around straight down the runway, not a 45-degree turn off airport."

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.