- Date
- June 13, 2024, 20:15 local (Jun 14, 2024, 01:15 UTC)
- Place
- Ava, MO · grass field
- Injuries
- 1 minor, 3 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N123WJMooney M20J
- Defining event
- Landing: Runway excursion
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- FAA Flight Standards
- Case key
- 194521
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The pilot’s failure to maintain control of the airplane resulting in a runway excursion during landing. Contributing to the accident was the degraded brake system on the airplane.
Findings · 2
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The pilot reported that after landing, he moved the throttle to idle; however, the engine speed remained at 1,550 rpm. After verifying that the throttle friction lock was fully released, he decided to move the mixture control to idle/cutoff to stop the engine. The airplane subsequently went off the end of the runway and impacted some bushes. The left wing separated at the wing root during the impact sequence. He noted that a throttle linkage issue may have prevented the engine from reducing to idle power. An examination conducted by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector confirmed throttle control continuity from the cockpit to the fuel servo, and that the fuel servo throttle arm rotated smoothly from stop to stop. Additionally, the left and right wheel brakes appeared to be leaking, and the pads were worn below minimums. In a supplemental statement, the pilot noted that the brakes were functional but required more pressure than normal. He added that there was no issue holding the airplane in place during the before takeoff engine runup. The airplane pilot operating handbook (POH) specified an engine speed of 1,900 – 2,000 rpm for the before takeoff engine runup. Automatic Dependent Surveillance – Broadcast (ADS-B) data depicted the airplane approaching to land on an extended final. The final data point was located about 0.5 miles from the runway. At that time, the airplane groundspeed was about 108 knots. Additionally, a left quartering tailwind prevailed which provided a 3-knot tailwind component to the landing runway. The airplane POH specified a final approach airspeed of 71 knots. There was no evidence of an anomaly with respect to the throttle linkage. However, there was evidence that the wheel brakes were likely not performing at an optimal level. The brakes in combination with the airplane inertia during landing likely resulted in the runway excursion.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N123WJ
- Reported as
- Mooney M20J
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 24-1620
- Built
- 1987
- Airframe hours
- 4,041
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-360-A3B6D, 200 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · January 1, 2024 · 22.5 hours before
- Departed
- MOR · Morristown, TN
- Destination
- AOV · Ava, MO
- Airport
- AOV · Ava Bill Martin Memorial, runway 31, 3,634 × 50 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- Electronic primary flight display, Stall warning system, Auto-pilot, ADS-B
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
- 34
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- November 30, 2023
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 462 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 190° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 11 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 79 °F, dew point 70 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.89 inHg
- Observed at
- KSGF, 38 nm away
- METAR
- METAR KSGF 140152Z 19007KT 10SM CLR 26/21 A2989
Docket · 8
The files NTSB released with the investigation on December 6, 2024, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 20.0 MB in all.