- Date
- December 16, 2025, 09:40 local (15:40 UTC)
- Place
- Gonzales, LA
- Injuries
- 2 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N9081VMooney M20E
- Defining event
- Landing-flare/touchdown: Hard landing
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 19, 2026
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- FAA FSDO
- FAA report
- 20251216019789A
- Case key
- 202172
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 improper pitch control that resulted in a hard landing, and his improper recovery from multiple bounced landings. Contributing to the accident was the safety pilot’s delayed response to the initial bounced landing which led to the runway excursion.
Findings · 3
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 and his safety pilot were conducting a proficiency flight for insurance purposes. According to the pilot, he began the landing flare too high and the airplane bounced when the main wheels touched down. The safety pilot reported that he monitored the pilot’s remedial action to the bounced landing. According to the safety pilot, the pilot increased airplane pitch but did not increase engine power which resulted in a second bounced landing. The safety pilot then took over the flight controls and advanced the throttle to maximum rpm. The safety pilot stated that he was unable to regain directional control and the airplane touched down a third time, veered left, passed through a fence, and impacted trees. The airplane sustained substantial damage to both wings, the fuselage, and the horizontal stabilizer. Both pilots reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. Additionally, the safety pilot stated that the accident might have been prevented had he taken over controls and/or called for an aborted landing sooner.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N9081V
- Reported as
- Mooney M20E
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 690015
- Built
- 1968
- Airframe hours
- 5,852
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-360-A1A, 200 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Rm Av-Med Consulting LLC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 24, 2025
- Departed
- BTR · Baton Rouge, LA
- Destination
- Same as departure
- Airport
- REG · Louisiana Regional, runway 35, 5,003 × 100 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- Electronic flight bag or handheld device, Auto-pilot, Electronic multifunction display, ADS-B, Stall warning system, Onboard weather, Handheld GPS
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 · 2
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 66
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- BasicMed, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- December 20, 2023
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 706.9 total · 46.4 in this make and model · 587.2 as pilot in command · 3.6 in the last 90 days · 0.5 in the last 30 days · 0.5 in the last 24 hours
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 60
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificates
- Commercial, Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- June 27, 2025
- Seat
- Right
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 1,665 total · 447 in this make and model · 1,426 as pilot in command · 45 in the last 90 days · 20.7 in the last 30 days · 0.7 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 46 °F, dew point 32 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.30 inHg
- Observed at
- KREG
- METAR
- METAR KREG 161535Z AUTO 00000KT 10SM CLR 08/00 A3030 RMK AO2 T00821003
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on March 19, 2026, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 3.4 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.