Mooney M20K N3777

Summary

On 3 May 2024 at about 20:45 local time, a Mooney M20K registered N3777 was involved in an accident near Conway, South Carolina, 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

3 May 2024 at 20:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Conway, South Carolina, United States

Nearest airport

Conway-Horry County (HYW)

Coordinates

33.8285, -79.1222

Aircraft

Mooney M20K

Registration

N3777

Category

Airplane

Year built

1985

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Flight Test

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA24LA218

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s failure to extend the landing gear before landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane had just undergone an annual inspection and the pilot was returning to the airport after conducting a post-maintenance flight test. The pilot stated that he made a normal approach to land with both the flaps and landing gear extended. He further described that upon landing, the airplane settled to the runway, and skidded to a stop resulting in substantial damage to the lower fuselage. A postaccident examination of the airplane revealed minor damage to the nose landing gear door and no damage to the main landing gear doors. The landing gear was subsequently cycled several times using both normal and emergency methods. No evidence of any preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures were noted that would have precluded normal operation of the landing gear system. Based on this information, it is most likely that the pilot landed the airplane with the landing gear still retracted.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.