19871215076859I

Incident · Minor damage

FAA incident report · Mooney M20L · Center Point, TX · December 15, 1987

Date: December 15, 1987 · 17:30 local
Place: Center Point, TX
Phase of flight: Normal Cruise
Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
Damage: Minor damage
Aircraft: N20XL
Reported as: Mooney M20L
People aboard: 2
Fatal injuries: 0
Pilot’s flight hours: 1,300 total100 in this make and model30 in the last 90 days

N20XLRegistration cancelled May 23, 2017 · Mooney M20LS/N 26-0001 · Built 1987 Airframe modelMooney M20L Engine modelContinental IO-550 seriesReciprocating

From the FAA’s Accident/Incident Data System (AIDS), through its Aviation Safety Information Portal, as reported. The NTSB investigates accidents separately, and its record of an accident is the fuller one. The aircraft is matched to the registry by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

What happened

The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.

Test flight. Purposely ran right fuel tank dry. Could not restart on other tank. Forced landing. Hit fence.

As the FAA filed it

TEST FLIGHT. PURPOSELY RAN RIGHT FUEL TANK DRY. COULD NOT RESTART ON OTHER TANK. FORCED LANDING. HIT FENCE.