Mooney M20J N50BJ

Summary

On 29 January 2011 at about 08:00 local time, a Mooney M20J registered N50BJ was involved in an accident near Furnace Creek, California, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

29 January 2011 at 08:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Furnace Creek, California, United States

Nearest airport

Furnace Creek Airport (L06)

Coordinates

36.3639, -116.8661

Aircraft

Mooney M20J

Registration

N50BJ

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Furnace Creek → Santa Monica

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR11FA114

1 person died.

The magneto clamps were not securely fastened to the mount, which led to a partial loss of engine power and a subsequent forced landing on unsuitable terrain.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

A witness reported observing the airplane take off to the south and stated that the ground operations and takeoff appeared to be normal. The wreckage was located 2 days later on a flat, dry salt lake bed 7 miles south of the departure airport. The surface of the ground was deep jagged salt deposits, with crevasses between 6 and 18 inches deep, and unsuitable for making a successful off-field landing. During the postaccident engine examination, the single-drive dual magneto was found mounted on the accessory pad and could be easily rotated by hand. The magneto had sustained no apparent impact damage and remained in good condition externally. Further examination of the attachment hardware found all required mounting studs, lock washers, and respective nuts to be in place and undamaged. The magneto clamps, respective magneto flange, and the accessory case interface areas exhibited wear signatures consistent with fretting, which suggested that the clamps were not securely fastened. These signatures were most prominent on the lower clamps and flange area. The magneto flange remained intact and revealed no evidence of cracking. It is likely that this could have produced a partial power loss, which led to the pilot’s decision to make an off-airport landing. No other mechanical failures or malfunctions were found that would have precluded normal operation. The airplane had accumulated about 10 hours since the last annual inspection. No maintenance records were located to determine if further maintenance had been performed on the engine since the inspection 5 months prior to the accident.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.