# NTSB CEN25LA007: Mooney M20E, N9151V, Richmond, TX, October 8, 2024 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Class 3 · Limited · Final report - Date: October 8, 2024, 12:35 local (17:35 UTC) - Place: Richmond, TX - Coordinates: 29.685067, -95.840261 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=29.6851&lon=-95.8403&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Initial climb](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/350) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Initial climb: Sys/Comp malf/fail (non-power)](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/330) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 2 uninjured - Status: Completed - Report: Approved by Office Director - Investigation class: Class 3 - NTSB office: Central Region - Parties: Lycoming, FAA - NTSB case key (mKey): 195277 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=CEN25LA007 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/195277/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=195277 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN25LA007 ## Probable cause The partial separation of a portion of the propeller spinner and its mounting bulkhead along with the upper cowl fairing while in a full-power climb. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Propeller system: prop/spinner section](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01046113): Aircraft › Aircraft propeller/rotor · Damaged/degraded (probable cause); cases with it: [Mooney M20E, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01046113/cases.md?model=5870212), [All aircraft, 5 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01046113/cases.md) - [Performance/control parameters: surface speed/braking](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062045): Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability · Capability exceeded; cases with it: [Mooney M20E, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062045/cases.md?model=5870212), [All aircraft, 238 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062045/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Initial climb: Sys/Comp malf/fail (non-power)](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/330) (defining event); cases with it: [Mooney M20E, 2 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/330/sequence.md?model=5870212), [All aircraft, 994 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/330/sequence.md) - [Approach: Off-field or emergency landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/440); cases with it: [Mooney M20E, 9 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/440/sequence.md?model=5870212), [All aircraft, 3,365 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/440/sequence.md) - [Landing-landing roll: Runway excursion](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/300); cases with it: [Mooney M20E, 7 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/300/sequence.md?model=5870212), [All aircraft, 3,643 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/300/sequence.md) ## Analysis The pilot had just taken off from a touch-and-go landing when he noticed an odor followed by a loud explosion and the airplane shaking violently. The pilot stated that a total loss of engine power occurred. He executed a 180° turn and made an emergency landing to the departure runway, which resulted in a runway overrun. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed the fiberglass upper engine cowl fairing and the left vent baffle contacted the propeller spinner and spinner bulkhead. The ensuing rubbing of the cowl and baffle with the spinner components likely created the odor smelled by the pilot. As the failure progressed, the components separated in flight; they were not located after the accident. The inflight separation of these components likely also created the reported loud explosion and violent shaking due to an unbalanced propeller and spinner. The cause of the component failure could not be determined, as the components were missing. The pilot reported a total loss of engine power in flight; however, recorded data indicated the engine continued to operate throughout the forced landing approach. A postaccident engine test run found the engine to be fully functional. It is likely that given the low altitude at the time of the failure, the pilot did not have adequate time to troubleshoot the condition of the engine. ## Factual narrative On October 8, 2024, about 1235 central daylight time, a Mooney M20E airplane, N9151V, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Richmond, Texas. The pilot and passenger were not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The flight departed West Houston Airport (KIWS), Houston, Texas, and flew to Wharton Regional Airport (KARM), Wharton, Texas, where the pilot performed air work and four landings. On the return to KIWS, the pilot performed a touch-and-go landing at Covey Trails Airport (X09), Fulshear, Texas. While performing the landing on runway 35 he said the engine indications appeared normal. The pilot reported that the flight was departing to the northeast about 700 ft when he smelled a “weird smell,” then several seconds later he heard a “loud explosion.” The pilot reported the airplane shook violently and was hard to control. The pilot stated that the engine lost all power, so he attempted a turn back to the airport to land on runway 17. He said there was a 14-knot tailwind, so he had to slip the airplane onto the runway and it touched down within the first 1,000 ft at about 70 knots. The pilot used the brakes on the grass surface, but was unable to stop before the airplane overran the end of the runway and came to rest in a ditch about 150 ft south of the runway (see Figure 1). Figure 1. Accident site (courtesy of FAA). A postaccident examination of the airframe showed that the original engine cowls had been modified via supplemental type certificates (STC) with fiberglass fairings at the front of the upper and lower cowl where air flows into the engine compartment. In the left front corner of the engine compartment, a vented baffle had been added to direct airflow to the heater muff air inlet hose, which would have been affected by the additional cowl fairings. The upper cowl fairing was missing and not present at the accident site and the lower cowl fairing was damaged. The vented baffle also had damage present. The spinner and spinner mounting bulkhead were both missing a portion of their respective assemblies. The separated portions of these two items were not present at the accident site. The interior of the spinner showed rotational damage and the internal bulkhead that seats the spinner on the propeller piston dome was offset to one side, consistent with the damage having occurred while the engine was running. The propeller blades had gouges and scratches on the blade faces near the blade roots along with white paint transfer marks. The blade backs had scratches that marred the painted surface at the outboard end of the blades. One blade was bent aft at the outboard end and the other blade was bent aft about mid-span. Postaccident engine runs revealed no anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. Recorded data was obtained from the JPI EDM-900 engine monitor and the Avidyne IFD 540 nav/com radio. The two data sets were time-correlatedto one another and reviewed. The last 2 minutes of the data showed the accident airplane made a touch-and-go landing at X09 followed by a northeasterly departure from runway 35. At 12:33:50, the data indicated Fuel Flow (FF), Manifold Air Pressure (MAP), and Exhaust Gas Temperatures (EGTs) decreased consistent with an engine power reduction. This occurred just before the 180° turn to return to X09. See Figure 2. At 12:34:02, the data indicated that FF, MAP, and EGTs decreased a second time to values that were consistent with the engine at a low or idle power setting, similar to values seen earlier in the data during the landings at KARM. This occurred after the 180° turn had been completed and the airplane was headed southwest, toward runway 17 at KARM roughly 0.6 nautical miles (nm) away. See Figures 2-3. At 12:34:56, the data indicated that FF reduced to zero, MAP increased, and EGTs decreased. This occurred roughly 500 feet before to the end of the runway and is consistent with the engine being shut off. See Figure 2-3. At 12:35:03, the data was consistent with impact. Impact occurred 46 seconds after the completion of the turn back to the airport when the second engine power reduction to low or idle power took place. Figure 2. Engine power data points. Figure 3. Recorded engine data from the accident flight. Comparison of engine parameters during second power reduction after 180° turn completed (red circles on right side of plot) to prior engine indications during landings before the accident (red circles on the left side of the plot). ## Aircraft - Registration: [N9151V](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N9151V), registered now, S/N 690031, built 1969 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: MOONEY M20E - Registry model: [Mooney M20E](https://openairdocs.org/model/mooney-m20e) (registry code 5870212) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming I0360 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-i0360-series) (registry code 41515, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 690031 - Year built: 1969 - Airframe hours: 3942.5 - Engines: Lycoming IO-360-A1A 200 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, May 17, 2024, 127.8 hours before - Departed: KIWS, Houston, TX - Destination: KIWS, Houston, TX - Airport: X09, Covey Trails Airport, runway 17, 3,352 × 100 ft, grass/turf - Equipment: ADS-B, Auto-pilot ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 19; injuries: none; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 1, with waivers/limitations; last flight review March 26, 2024; seat: left; restraint: 3-point; flight hours: 373 total, 300 in this make and model, 256 as pilot in command, 45 in the last 90 days, 24.4 in the last 30 days, 1.4 in the last 24 hours - Pilot-rated passenger; age 29; injuries: none; commercial; airplane ratings: single-engine sea, single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 1, without waivers/limitations; seat: right; restraint: 3-point ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 50° at 5 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 84 °F, dew point 52 °F - Altimeter: 29.99 inHg - Observed at: KTME, 8 nm away - METAR: KTME 081735Z AUTO 05005KT 10SM CLR 29/11 A2999 RMK AO2 ## 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 20241008018209A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20241008018209A), Oct 8, 2024: Mooney M20E, Fulshear, TX, Substantial damage. Pilot reported they had flown in from another airport and landed at X09. Then they took off and leveled out at about 700' elevation. They heard a loud 'bang'… ## Docket (10 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on April 1, 2025, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=195277. 18.6 MB in all. - Pilot/operator aircraft accident report, NTSB form 6120.1 (item 1, PDF, 10 pages, 2.5 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=18381200&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=CEN25LA007%20-%206120_1_Redacted-Rel.pdf - Maintenance records (item 2, PDF, 26 pages, 5.6 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=18264826&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=CEN25LA007%20-%20ACFT%20-%20Maintenance%20Records_Redacted-Rel.pdf - Photos (item 3, PDF, 12 pages, 11 photos, 2.5 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=18264256&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=CEN25LA007%20-%20PHOTOS%20-%20Photo%20Summary-Rel.pdf - Wreckage exam summary (item 4, PDF, 18 pages, 2.4 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=18264266&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=CEN25LA007%20-%20SUMMARY%20-%20Wreckage%20Exam-Rel.pdf - Pilot's statement (item 5, PDF, 2 pages, 133 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=18380951&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=CEN25LA007%20-%20WITNESS%20-%20Adrian%20Neret-Rel.pdf - Statement of party representatives to NTSB investigation (item 6, PDF, 9 pages, 144 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=18264575&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=CEN25LA007%20-%20PARTY%20FORM%20-%20Harsanyi-Rel.pdf - Recorded flight data - specialist's factual report (item 7, PDF, 14 pages, 3.4 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=18405220&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=CEN25LA007%20Recorded%20Flight%20Data%20-%20Specialist%27s%20Factual%20Report-Rel.pdf - Attachment 1 to recorded flight data - specialist's factual report (item 8, CSV, 1.3 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=18405543&FileExtension=csv&FileName=CEN25LA007%20Attachment%201%20to%20Recorded%20Flight%20Data%20-%20Specialist%27s%20Factual%20Report-Rel.csv - Attachment 2 to recorded flight data - specialist's factual report (item 9, CSV, 92 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=18404961&FileExtension=csv&FileName=CEN25LA007%20Attachment%202%20to%20Recorded%20Flight%20Data%20-%20Specialist%27s%20Factual%20Report-Rel.csv - Evidence control form (item 10, PDF, 2 pages, 551 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=18414851&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=CEN25LA007%20-%20EVIDENCE_Redacted-Rel.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.