- Date
- May 15, 2026, 16:05 local (21:05 UTC)
- Place
- Morris, IL · 41.43633N / 88.41901W
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N201QMMooney M20J
- Defining event
- Maneuvering: Fuel related
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 22, 2026
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- FAA
- FAA report
- 20260515006559A
- Case key
- 203009
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 inadequate fuel management, which resulted in a loss of engine power due to fuel starvation.
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
Before the local flight, the pilot confirmed the left fuel tank was about ¼ full and the right fuel tank was about ¾ full of fuel. About 30 to 40 minutes into the flight, the engine experienced a loss of power. The pilot attempted to restart the engine by adjusting the mixture and utilizing the fuel boost pump. Unable to restart the engine, he maneuvered the airplane to a nearby airport and extended the landing gear, then realized the airplane could not glide to the airport, so he retracted the landing gear. He then elected to make a forced landing to a field and extended the landing gear. The airplane landed in the field and continued into a tree line where it came to rest upright. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the leading edges of both wings. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. A postaccident examination of the fuel tanks by the pilot revealed that the left tank was empty and the right tank was about ¾ full. The pilot stated that the left tank was utilized for the entire flight and that he did not switch fuel tanks.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N201QM
- Reported as
- Mooney M20J
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 24-0339
- Built
- 1977
- Airframe hours
- 7,000
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-360-A1B6D, 200 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Nordica Group Ltd
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · May 14, 2026 · 0.7 hours before
- Departed
- IGQ · Lansing, IL
- Airport
- C09, runway 18, 5,501 × 75 ft, asphalt
- Equipment
- Stall warning system, ADS-B, Auto-pilot, Data recorder, Onboard weather, Handheld GPS, Electronic flight bag or handheld device
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
- 79
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- BasicMed, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- February 15, 2024
- Seat
- Left
- Restraint
- 3-point
- Flight hours
- 4,996 total · 4,824 in this make and model · 9 in the last 30 days · 0.7 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 180° at 14 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 77 °F, dew point 54 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.83 inHg
- Observed at
- KC09, 1 nm away
- METAR
- METAR KC09 152121Z AUTO 18014KT 10SM CLR 25/12 A2983 RMK AO2
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on June 22, 2026, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 4.1 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.