- Date
- January 29, 1983, 12:58 local (18:58 UTC)
- Place
- Prattville, AL
- Injuries
- 4 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N8146EMooney M-20A
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Safety recommendations
- Yes
- FAA report
- 19830129001609A
- Case key
- 5886
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The left wing separated as the plt began a pull-up after a low pass. The separation point was in the wing root where themain spar had been secured to the fuselage with a metal bracket. A butt splice had been made to the bottom of the wing spar. The fracture area at the root end of the main wing spar was soft, damp & discolored compared to other wood in the area. The butt joint was later determined as having no capability for transferring axial stresses. This repair was not done under supervision of a licensed mechanic. The acft had operated 40 hrs since the annual inspection dated 6/8/82. AD76-15-1 (inspection of the wood wing) requires that the wood wing be inspected iaw Mooney sb M20-170A.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8146E
- Reported as
- Mooney M-20A
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 1417
- Airframe hours
- 2,352
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360-A1A, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- William Laine Hobbie II
- Registered owner
- Aloft Aerial Applicators Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 8, 1982 · 40 hours before
- Departed
- Auburn, AL
- Airport
- 1A9 · Autauga Conty
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 21
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 281 total · 15 in this make and model · 227 as pilot in command · 35 in the last 90 days · 15 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 180° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 6 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 5,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 63 °F, dew point 48 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- MGM, 10 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.