# Incident 20260424006149I: Mooney Airplane Co Inc M20TN, Tappahannock, VA, April 24, 2026

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: April 24, 2026, 13:40 local time
- Place: Tappahannock, VA
- Airport: Tappahannock/Essex County Airp
- Damage: Minor damage
- Phase of flight: Landing: Touchdown
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 37.8596° N, 76.8941° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at TAPPAHANNOCK/ESSEX COUNTY (XSA), within about a mile (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=37.8596&lon=-76.8941&mi=10
- Aircraft: N1129L, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N1129L) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Mooney M20TN (registry code 5870227, https://openairdocs.org/model/mooney-m20tn) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Continental TSIO-550-G (registry code 17401, https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-tsio-550-g) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: MOONEY AIRPLANE CO INC M20TN
- Reported engine: CONT MOTOR TSIO-550-G
- People aboard: 3
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Private pilot
- Pilot flight hours: 850 total, 224 in this make and model, 15 in the last 90 days
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20260424006149I

## Narrative

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

ON APRIL 24, 2026, AT APPROXIMATELY 1100 AIRCRAFT M20P DEPARTED KFTY ON A IFR FLIGHT PLAN FROM KFTY TO KMJX. THE AIRCRAFT CLIMBED TO 9000 FEET SHORTLY AFTER TAKE OFF AND PROCEEDED ON ROUTE. THE FLIGHT FLEW IN AND OUT OF CLOUDS MOST OF THE FLIGHT WITH MINOR TURBULENCE. THE PILOT REQUESTED 11,000 THEN 13,000 TO FLY ABOVE THE LAYER. AT 13,000 FEET ON AUTOPILOT, THE AIRCRAFT ENCOUNTERED LIGHT ICING, WHILE SPEAKING TO ATC TO DESEND TO AVOID THE ICING, THE AIRCRAFT HIT SEVERE TURBLENCE. THE AIRCRAFT WENT INTO A DIVE TO 7,000 FEET, DURING THAT TIME THE PILOT STATED HE LOST THE AUTOPILOT, HSI, AND THE ARTIFICIAL HORIZON ON THE PFD. THE STANDBY UNIT SHOWED THE AIRCRAFT AT 90 DEGREES AND IN A DIVE. AFTER REGAINING CONTROL OF THE AIRCRAFT AT AROUND 5,000 FEET, THE AIRCRAFT SUDDENLY GAINED ALTITUDE, HE STABLIZED THE AIRCRAFT AT 5,000 FEET AND ATC CLEARED HIM TO STAY AT THAT ALTITUDE. THE PILOT DIVERTED TO KXSA FOR A STRAIGHT IN APPROCH. HE STATED THAT HE PROCEEDED TO PUT THE LANDING GEAR DOWN AND THE AIRCRAFT DID NOT REDUCE SPEED. THE PILOT THEN EXTENDED THE SPEED BRAKES AND FLAPS TO 10 DEGREES. THE GEAR UNSAFE LIGHT WAS ILLUMINATED AND THE PILOT STARTED TO PERFORM THE EMERGENCY LANDING GEAR EXTEND. THE AIRCRAFT LANDED WITH THE LANDING GEAR IN THE UP POSITION ON RUNWAY 10.

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.

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