Mooney M20J N201ZZ

Summary

On 25 March 2011 at about 19:54 local time, a Mooney M20J registered N201ZZ was involved in an accident near St. Petersburg, Florida, 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

25 March 2011 at 19:54

Classification

Accident

Location

St. Petersburg, Florida, United States

Nearest airport

Albert Whitted Airport (SPG)

Coordinates

27.7650, -82.6269

Aircraft

Mooney M20J

Registration

N201ZZ

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Ft. Myers → St. Petersburg

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA11CA212

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s failure to maintain directional control during a crosswind 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 was landing on runway 18 with the wind reported from the tower air traffic controller as being from 270 degrees at 15 knots. The airplane touched down on the main wheels, and he held control yoke back-pressure until the nose wheel touched down. The airplane then veered 90 degrees to the left, bounced, departed the runway, and crossed a grassy area. It then struck a seawall, went over it, and came to rest nose-down, almost vertically, with salt water almost to the cockpit. The left wing and the fuselage were substantially damaged. Neither the pilot nor the responding Federal Aviation Administration inspector reported any preexisting mechanical anomalies with the airplane. The recorded wind at the airport 1 minute before the accident was from 240 degrees at 10 knots. The airport had a runway 25, but it was closed at the time of the accident.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.