# Accident 20110406007559A: Mooney Aircraft Corp. M20K, New Orleans, LA, April 6, 2011

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: April 6, 2011, 20:30 local time
- Place: New Orleans, LA
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Takeoff: Climb Out
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 30.0422° N, 90.0283° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=30.0422&lon=-90.0283&mi=10
- Aircraft: N305M, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N305M-2011-09-21) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Mooney M20K (registry code 5870220, https://openairdocs.org/model/mooney-m20k) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Continental TSIO-360 series (registry code 17019, https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-tsio-360-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: MOONEY AIRCRAFT CORP. M20K
- Reported engine: CONT MOTOR TSIO-360 SER
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Private pilot
- Pilot flight hours: 1,100 total, 700 in this make and model, 15 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB CEN11LA311](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN11LA311) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20110406007559A

## Narrative

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

ON APRIL 6, 2011, AIRMAN FOUND AIRCRAFT BATTERY DEAD ON HIS AIRCRAFT, A MOONEY M20K.  A LOCAL MAINTENANCE TECHNICIAN REMOVED BATTERY AND PLACED ON CHARGE FOR ABOUT TWO HOURS, BATTERY INDICATED 23.6 VOLTS ON CHARGE. THE TECHNICIAN THEN REINSTALLED BATTERY IN AIRCRAFT.  AIRMAN TURNED MASTER SWITCH ON AND ALL GAUGES FUNCTION NORMALLY; HOWEVER DURING ENGINE START THE BATTERY WAS UNABLE TO START ENGINE, SO THE AIRMAN REQUESTED THE GROUND POWER UNIT (GPU) FROM THE FBO TO START THE AIRCRAFT. AFTER ENGINE START AND THE GPU WAS DISCONNECTED THE AIRMAN RAN ENGINE FOR ABOUT 30 MINUTES BEFORE TAKE OFF WHICH NO ABNORMALITIES WERE NOTED AT THAT TIME. DURING CLIMB (ABOUT 10 MINUTES INTO FLIGHT) AND APPROXIMATELY 4000 FEET AGL AIRMAN STATED THE OVER VOLTAGE LIGHT ILLUMINATED STEADY WITH ALTERNATOR GAUGE OUTPUT NORMAL.  THE AIRMAN CONTACTED ATC AND REQUESTED A RETURN TO THE DEPARTURE AIRPORT (NEW ORLEANS LAKEFRONT AIRPORT) AND WAS MAKING A LEFT TURN WHEN ALL PANEL LIGHTS STARTED TO FLICKER. DURING DECENT AIRMAN PULLED ENGINE POWER BACK TO A NORMAL DESCENT SETTING. APPROXIMATELY 1000 FEET AGL, AIRMAN STATED THE AIRCRAFT LOST ENGINE POWER AND AIRCRAFT WAS UNABLE TO MAKE AIR FIELD CAUSING THE AIRMAN TO CONFIGURE THE AIRCRAFT FOR EMERGENCY WATER LANDING ABOUT ¼ MILE FROM RUNWAY IN LAKE PONTCHARTRAIN. AIRMAN STATED HE DID NOT SWITCH FUEL TANKS DURING EMERGENCY.DURING INVESTIGATION THE AIRCRAFT LANDING GEAR SELECTOR WAS FOUND IN THE DOWN AND LOCKED POSITION AND ALL THREE LANDING GEAR WAS DOWN AND LOCKED.  THE THROTTLE WAS FOUND IN IDLE POSITION WITH THE PROPELLER CONTROL AND MIXTURE CONTROL IN THE FORWARD POSITION. THIS AIRCRAFT WAS UNDER WATER FOR THREE WEEKS AND THE INSURANCE COMPANY PLANS TO REMOVE AND SEND THE DATA PLATES TO AFS-760 BEFORE DESTROYING THE 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 CEN11LA311](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN11LA311), Apr 7, 2011: Mooney M20K (N305M), New Orleans, LA, substantial damage. Probable cause: A loss of electrical and engine power for undetermined reasons.

## Other reports on N305M (1)

Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.

- [Incident 20021026032519I](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20021026032519I), Oct 26, 2002: Mooney M20K (N305M), Lancaster, PA, Minor damage. (-23) Subject aircraft with Mr. Price at the controls made a normal approach to runway 31 for landing. Both pilots noticed landing gear was still up when the…

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.