# NTSB CEN16LA129: Mooney M20C, N9262M, Wichita, KS, March 18, 2016 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Minor injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: March 18, 2016, 15:25 local (20:25 UTC) - Place: Wichita, KS - Coordinates: 37.726665, -97.228614 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=37.7267&lon=-97.2286&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Approach](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/500) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Approach-VFR pattern downwind: Loss of engine power (total)](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341) - Highest injury: Minor injuries - Injuries: 2 minor - Status: Completed, report August 16, 2016 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Central Region - Parties: FAA Flight Standards District Office - NTSB case key (mKey): 92869 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=CEN16LA129 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/92869/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=92869 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN16LA129 ## Probable cause The total loss of engine power due to fuel starvation, which resulted from the pilot's improper fuel management. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Fluids: fuel](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01071010): Aircraft › Fluids/misc hardware · Fluid management (probable cause); cases with it: [Mooney M20C, 16 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01071010/cases.md?model=5870208), [All aircraft, 1,695 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01071010/cases.md) - [Use of equip/info: use of equip/system](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063015): Personnel issues › Task performance · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Mooney M20C, 4 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063015/cases.md?model=5870208), [All aircraft, 1,391 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063015/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Approach-VFR pattern downwind: Loss of engine power (total)](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341) (defining event); cases with it: [Mooney M20C, 19 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341/sequence.md?model=5870208), [All aircraft, 3,820 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/341/sequence.md) - [Emergency descent: Off-field or emergency landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/440); cases with it: [Mooney M20C, 21 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/440/sequence.md?model=5870208), [All aircraft, 3,365 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/440/sequence.md) - [Landing: Collision with terr/obj (non-CFIT) ](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470); cases with it: [Mooney M20C, 39 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md?model=5870208), [All aircraft, 10,189 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md) ## Analysis The private pilot reported that he conducted a preflight inspection of the airplane and noted that both fuel tanks were full. The pilot then took off for the personal cross-country flight. During approach to landing at the destination airport, the pilot extended the downwind leg due to inbound instrument flight rules traffic. The engine then suddenly lost power, and the pilot conducted a forced landing. An examination of the wreckage revealed no preimpact mechanical anomalies. The fuel tank selector was positioned to the left fuel tank, and the electric fuel pump was in the "off" position. No fuel was found in the left tank. There was no smell of fuel, no evidence of fuel spillage, and the fuel tank did not appear to have been breached. Some fuel, about 2 to 3 inches deep, was found in the right fuel tank. If the pilot had switched the fuel selector from the left to the right fuel tank and turned on the electric fuel pump, the engine would not have been starved of fuel. ## Factual narrative On March 18, 2016, about 1525 central daylight time, a Mooney M20C, N9262M, lost engine power while on approach to the Col. James Jabara Airport (AAO), Wichita, Kansas, and subsequently collided with terrain. The pilot and his passenger received minor injuries. The airplane was substantially damaged. The airplane was registered to and operated by the Sabris Corporation, Wichita, Kansas, under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident, and no flight plan had been filed. The flight originated from Dickson (M02), Tennessee, about 1130 was en route to AAO. According to the pilot's statement, he had preflighted the airplane in M02 and noted that both fuel tanks were "filled to the rim." (According to the Mooney Aircraft Corporation, fuel capacity for the model M20C is 52 gallons, 26 gallons per wing tank). The flight to AAO was uneventful. Due to inbound IFR (instrument flight rules) traffic, the pilot extended the downwind leg for landing when the engine suddenly lost power. The pilot said he used the ALARMS (airspeed, landing site, air restart, radios, mayday, secure plane) checklist. The airplane was too far from the runway, so the pilot attempted to land on a golf course. He did not recall the forced landing and woke up in an ambulance en route to the hospital. A Federal Aviation Administration inspector who examined the airplane reported finding "no discernible quantity of fuel in the left tank." The fuel selector was positioned on the left fuel tank, and the electric fuel pump was in the off position. When the airplane was placed in a level position, the inspector was not able to sump fuel from the left fuel tank, even with the electric fuel pump running, or from the fuel selector valve sump. Some fuel was noted in the right fuel tank. The inspector was able to sump fuel from the right fuel tank. The fuel level was about 2 to 3 inches in depth. There was no evidence of fuel spillage, and the fuel tanks did not appear to have been breached. There were no fuel stains on the ground or the smell of fuel around the airplane. No other anomalies or mechanical failures were noted. Airplane damage consisted of a buckled lower fuselage from the engine cowling aft to the rear bulkhead. The firewall was bent. The right wing leading edge bore crush damage, and the main landing gear was pushed up through the wing. The flap was also bent. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N9262M](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N9262M-2018-03-09), registration cancelled 2018-03-09, S/N 3456, built 1966 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: MOONEY M20C - Registry model: [Mooney M20C](https://openairdocs.org/model/mooney-m20c) (registry code 5870208) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming O&VO-360 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-o-vo-360-series) (registry code 41514, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 3456 - Year built: 1966 - Engines: Lycoming O-360-A1D 180 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Operator: Sabris Corp. - Registered owner: Sabris Corp. - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Departed: M02, Dickson, TN - Destination: KAAO, Wichita, KS - Airport: KAAO, Colonel James Jabara - Equipment: Stall warning system ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 17; injuries: none; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land; medical: class 3, without waivers/limitations; last flight review March 31, 2015; seat: left; restraint: lap only; flight hours: 123 total, 17 in this make and model ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 20° at 15 knots, gusting 22 - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: 1,500 ft overcast - Temperature: 37 °F, dew point 32 °F - Altimeter: 30.15 inHg - Observed at: KICT, 2 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 (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20160318008119A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20160318008119A), Mar 18, 2016: Mooney M20C, Wichita, KS, Substantial damage. The aircraft departed on the return leg with full fuel, 52 gallons. During the previous 3.6 hour flight the aircrafts fuel usage was 10.3 gallons per hour, as… ## Other investigations on N9262M (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 NYC72FHM20](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/NYC72FHM20), Dec 3, 1971: Mooney M20C (N9262M), Newburgh, NY, minor damage ## Docket (8 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on May 3, 2016, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=92869. 455 KB in all. - Pilot's Statement to FAA (item 1, .PDF, 12 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40439649&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Pilot%27s%20Statement%20to%20FAA-Master.PDF - Statement of Nicole Klusener (item 2, .PDF, 39 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40439650&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Statement%20of%20Nicole%20Klusener-Master.PDF - Memorandum of FAA Telephone Conversation with Mike Gallaghe (item 3, .PDF, 17 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40439651&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Memorandum%20of%20FAA%20Telephone%20Conversation%20with%20Mike%20Gallaghe-Master.PDF - Memorandum of FAA Telephone Conversation with Walter Ferguson (item 4, .PDF, 17 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40439652&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Memorandum%20of%20FAA%20Telephone%20Conversation%20with%20Walter%20Ferguson-Master.PDF - Fuel Receipt, Dickson County Municipal Airport (M02), Dickson, TN (item 5, .PDF, 45 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40439653&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Fuel%20Receipt,%20Dickson%20County%20Municipal%20Airport%20(M02),%20Dickson,%20TN-Master.PDF - Fuel Receipt, Midwest Corp., Wichita, KS (item 6, .PDF, 44 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40439654&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Fuel%20Receipt,%20Midwest%20Corp.,%20Wichita,%20KS-Master.PDF - Sabris Flt Log Sheet (item 7, .PDF, 64 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40439655&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Sabris%20Flt%20Log%20Sheet-Master.PDF - Weather Reports and Records (item 8, .PDF, 217 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40439656&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Weather%20Reports%20and%20Records-Master.PDF 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. --- 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.