20100201051969I

Incident · Minor damage

FAA incident report · Mooney M20J · Farmingdale, NY · February 1, 2010

Date
February 1, 2010 · 15:55 local
Place
Farmingdale, NY
Airport
Republic
Phase of flight
Landing: Touchdown
Operating rules
General operating rules (Part 91)
Damage
Minor damage
Aircraft
N5783D
Reported as
Mooney M20J
Reported engine
Lycoming IO-360
People aboard
1
Fatal injuries
0
Other injuries
0
Pilot’s certificate
Student
Pilot’s flight hours
103 total59 in this make and model15 in the last 90 days

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.

The pilot was on a solo flight. There was a crosswind as well as a mildly gusting wind at the time of the incident. The aircraft touched down and bounced. The pilot stated that he was waiting for the aircraft to resettle back on the runway. At some point, he lost control of the aircraft. When queried, the pilot was unable to identify the moment he lost directional control. The result was the aircraft weathervaning and departing the runway, destroying a runway sign and light, and causing minor damage to the aircraft.

As the FAA filed it

THE PILOT WAS ON A SOLO FLIGHT. THERE WAS A CROSSWIND AS WELL AS A MILDLY GUSTING WIND AT THE TIME OF THE INCIDENT. THE AIRCRAFT TOUCHED DOWN AND BOUNCED. THE PILOT STATED THAT HE WAS WAITING FOR THE AIRCRAFT TO RESETTLE BACK ON THE RUNWAY. AT SOME POINT, HE LOST CONTROL OF THE AIRCRAFT. WHEN QUERIED, THE PILOT WAS UNABLE TO IDENTIFY THE MOMENT HE LOST DIRECTIONAL CONTROL. THE RESULT WAS THE AIRCRAFT WEATHERVANING AND DEPARTING THE RUNWAY, DESTROYING A RUNWAY SIGN AND LIGHT, AND CAUSING MINOR DAMAGE TO THE AIRCRAFT.