Mooney M20E N9151V

Summary

On 8 October 2024 at about 17:35 local time, a Mooney M20E registered N9151V was involved in an accident near Richmond, Texas, United States. 2 people were 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

8 October 2024 at 17:35

Classification

Accident

Location

Richmond, Texas, United States

Nearest airport

Covey Trails Airport (X09)

Coordinates

29.6851, -95.8403

Aircraft

Mooney M20E

Registration

N9151V

Category

Airplane

Year built

1969

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Houston → Houston

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN25LA007

Nobody was injured.

The partial separation of a portion of the propeller spinner and its mounting bulkhead along with the upper cowl fairing while in a full-power climb.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot had just taken off from a touch-and-go landing when he noticed an odor followed by a loud explosion and the airplane shaking violently. The pilot stated that a total loss of engine power occurred. He executed a 180° turn and made an emergency landing to the departure runway, which resulted in a runway overrun. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed the fiberglass upper engine cowl fairing and the left vent baffle contacted the propeller spinner and spinner bulkhead. The ensuing rubbing of the cowl and baffle with the spinner components likely created the odor smelled by the pilot. As the failure progressed, the components separated in flight; they were not located after the accident. The inflight separation of these components likely also created the reported loud explosion and violent shaking due to an unbalanced propeller and spinner. The cause of the component failure could not be determined, as the components were missing. The pilot reported a total loss of engine power in flight; however, recorded data indicated the engine continued to operate throughout the forced landing approach. A postaccident engine test run found the engine to be fully functional. It is likely that given the low altitude at the time of the failure, the pilot did not have adequate time to troubleshoot the condition of the engine.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.