Mooney M20 N6002Q

Summary

On 26 November 2017 at about 23:00 local time, a Mooney M20 registered N6002Q was involved in an accident near Tucson, Arizona, 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

26 November 2017 at 23:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Tucson, Arizona, United States

Nearest airport

Ryan Field (RYN)

Coordinates

32.1417, -111.1833

Aircraft

Mooney M20

Registration

N6002Q

Category

Airplane

Year built

1966

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Tucson → Tucson

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

GAA18CA059

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s inadequate preflight and in-flight fuel management, which resulted in an intermittent loss of engine power due to fuel starvation.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that, during the preflight inspection, in preparation for the local flight to accomplish three touch-and-go landings, he removed the fuel filler caps and visually confirmed what appeared to be an adequate amount of fuel in each tank. The pilot did not use the fuel dip stick to confirm the quantity. The pilot reported that the fuel selector was selected to the right-side fuel tank before departure. After the second takeoff, about 600 ft above ground level (agl) and just before turning crosswind, the engine surged once or twice and then experienced a total loss of engine power. The pilot checked the engine controls and turned left back toward the runway. About 300 ft agl, he switched the fuel selector to the left fuel tank. Seconds later, the engine regained power; however, the airplane had descended low enough that the airplane collided with the tops of mesquite brush and then the ground. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that the right fuel tank was empty and that the left fuel tank contained about 10 gallons of fuel. There was no evidence of a breach or fuel leak. The fuselage was substantially damaged. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.