Mooney M20M N243CW

Summary

On 24 October 2015 at about 11:53 local time, a Mooney M20M registered N243CW was involved in an accident near Worcester, Massachusetts, 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

24 October 2015 at 11:53

Classification

Accident

Location

Worcester, Massachusetts, United States

Nearest airport

Worcester Rgnl (ORH)

Coordinates

42.2614, -71.8692

Aircraft

Mooney M20M

Registration

N243CW

Category

Airplane

Year built

1996

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Worcester → Worcester

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA16FA023

1 person died.

A total loss of engine power during the initial climb due to a fatigue failure of the engine's crankshaft. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's failure to maintain control of the airplane, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airline transport pilot was departing on a personal local flight in his airplane when the airplane's engine lost total power. Review of airport security video revealed that, after takeoff, the airplane reached an altitude of about 200 ft before turning right and reversing direction. The airplane subsequently stalled, rolled to the right, and descended uncontrolled into trees. It is likely that the pilot reversed direction to return to the airport but failed to maintain adequate airspeed while maneuvering, which resulted in the airplane exceeding its critical angle of attack, an aerodynamic stall, and loss of control. Examination of the engine revealed that the crankshaft had failed due to fatigue cracking between the No. 5 and No. 6 cheeks. The cracking pattern suggested that numerous overstress conditions of relatively short durations acted to initiate the fatigue cracks, but the cause for this overstress could not be determined.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.