CEN24LA234

NTSB accident investigation · Mooney M20J · Ava, MO · June 14, 2024

Accident · Minor injuriesClass 4 · LimitedFinal report
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.

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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.

Landing gear system: brakeAircraft › Aircraft systems · Damaged/degradedMooney M20J: 2 casesAll aircraft: 297 cases
Use of equip/info: aircraft controlPersonnel issues › Task performance · PilotMooney M20J: 36 casesAll aircraft: 9,295 casesProbable cause

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.