# Accident 19890904035409A: Mooney M20, West Branch, MI, September 4, 1989

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: September 4, 1989, 16:50 local time
- Place: West Branch, MI
- Airport: West Branch Community Airport
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Starting Engines
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 44.2448° N, 84.1798° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at WEST BRANCH COMMUNITY (Y31), within about a mile (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=44.2448&lon=-84.1798&mi=10
- Aircraft: N5292B, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N5292B-1990-04-06) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Mooney M20 (registry code 5870202, https://openairdocs.org/model/mooney-m20) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: MOONEY M20
- Reported engine: LYC O320A3A
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 463 total, 158 in this make and model
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB CHI89DEM08](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI89DEM08) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19890904035409A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

HAND PROPPED ENGINE STARTED. PASSENGER OPENED THROTTLE. AIRCRAFT STRUCK A DITCH AND STOPPED. AIRCRAFT NOT SECURED.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB CHI89DEM08](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI89DEM08), Sep 4, 1989: Mooney M20 (N5292B), West Branch, MI, substantial damage. Probable cause: THE PILOT'S DECISION TO HAND PROP THE ENGINE WITH A NON-PILOT AT THE CONTROLS AND THE PASSENGER'S APPLICATION TO FULL THROTTLE. A FACTOR RELATED TO THE ACCIDENT WAS PANIC OF THE PASSENGER.

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft 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. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

---
OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.