# Accident 20010107035179A: Mooney M20C, Jacksonville, FL, January 7, 2001 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: January 7, 2001, 15:12 local time - Place: Jacksonville, FL - Airport: Jacksonville International - Damage: Substantial damage - Phase of flight: To Init Climb(1st Pwr Reduct) - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 30.4936° N, 81.6908° W: From the FAA - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=30.4936&lon=-81.6908&mi=10 - Aircraft: N6807N, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N6807N-2021-08-17) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Mooney M20C (registry code 5870208, https://openairdocs.org/model/mooney-m20c) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: Lycoming O&VO-360 series (registry code 41514, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-o-vo-360-series) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: MOONEY M20C - Reported engine: LYC O360A1D - People aboard: 2 - Fatal injuries: 0 - Pilot flight hours: 7,500 total - NTSB investigation: [NTSB MIA01LA057](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/MIA01LA057) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20010107035179A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. (-23) MOONEY LOST ELEVATOR CONTROL AFTER COMPLETING A TOUCH AND GO SEQUENCE. AS THE ACFT ROTATED AND THE PILOT APPLIED FULL THROTTLE, THE ELEVATOR CONTROL ROD END PULLED LOOSE FROM THE ELEVATOR ATTACHMENT POINT. THE AIRCRAFT SEVERELY PITCHED UP TO AN UNCONTROLLABLE ATTITUDE BEFORE IT STARTED BACK DOWN APPROX. 400 FEET AGL. THE AIRCRAFT NOSE ROTATED TO A CRITICAL NOSE DOWN ATTITUDE TO APPROX. 100 FEET AGL BEFORE STARTING BACK UP. THE PILOT GAINED PARTIAL CONTROL OF THE AIRCRAFT BY APPLYING APPLICABLE POWER TO THE ENGINE TO MAINTAIN A NEAR STABLE ALTITUDE OF APPRO. 200 FEET AGL. THE AIRCRAFT HAD AN UNCONTROLLABLE SLIGHT TURN TO THE LEFT APPROX. 3 TO 5 DEGREES PER MINUTE. THE PILOT INITIATED A DESCENT APPROX. 100 FEET PER MINUTE IN A LEFT TURN TO LANDING. (.4) ACCORDING TO THE PILOT, FOLLOWING POWER APPLICATION AFTER HIS FIRST TOUCH AND GO LANDING, THE AIRCRAFT ASSUMED AN EXTREMELY NOSE HIGH ATTITUDE, AND HE REALIZED HE HAD NO PITCH CONTROL, LIMITED RUDDER CONTROL, AND FULL AILERON CONTROL. HE WAS ABLE TO CONTROL PITCH ATTITUDE WITH THROTTLE SETTING, AND CONDUCTED AN EMERGENCY LANDING IN A FIELD ADJACENT TO THE AIRPORT, SUS TAINING SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE. POSTCRASH EXAMINATION REVEALED A DISCONNECT IN THE PITCH CONTROLS AT THE AFT PITCH CONTROL ROD-END-TO-BELLCRANK CONNECTION IN THE TAILCONE. EXAMINATION OF THE COMPONENTS REVEALED THAT THE PITCH CONTROL ROD-END EYE WAS MISSED WHEN THE CONNECTING BOLT WAS PUSHED THROUGH THE BELLCRANK SIDE PLATE HOLES. WHEN THE NUT WAS FITTED TO THE BOLT AND TIGHTENED, THE RESULT WAS A CONNECTION THAT WAS ONLY A "SQUEEZED", FRICTION FIT. ABOUT 12 FLIGHT HOURS BEFORE THE ACCIDENT, ON OCTOBER 24, 2000, THE AIRCRAFT UNDERWENT A 100-HOUR INSPECTION, AT WHICH TIME THE FOLLOWING WAS ENTERED IN THE LOGBOOK, "CHECKED ALL CONTROL PUSH RODS AND ROD END BEARINGS. LUBRICATED FLIGHT CONTROLS". ON APRIL 24, 1980, MOONEY AIRCRAFT CORPORATION RECOGNIZED A POTENTIAL FOR A MISCONNECTION BETWEEN THE ROD END AND THE BELLCRANK AND PROMULGATED SERVICE INSTRUCTION M20-44, WHICH HAD NOT BEEN ACCOMPLISHED ON THIS AIRCRAFT. ## 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 MIA01LA057](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/MIA01LA057), Jan 7, 2001: Mooney M-20C (N6807N), Jacksonville, FL, substantial damage. Probable cause: The failure of maintenance personnel to properly reconnect the aircraft's elevator control system, resulting in an in-flight disconnection of the elevator control and jamming of the rudder control… 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.