CHI01FA220

The airplane was observed proceeding westbound from the airport at a low altitude. A witness said, "I watched and listened thinking he would soon apply power and climb. The engine noise was smooth sounding but low. The plane was not gaining altitude and slowly losing altitude." The witness said the airplane flew parallel to, and north of the road in front of her house. "As it crossed the point of my driveway, the plane banked slightly, hit the tree tops and crashed and exploded." Control tower communications revealed that shortly after being instructed to contact departure control, the pilot responded, "two hotel whiskey - engine failure". An examination of airframe records showed that a new engine was installed at the annual inspection on February 5, 2001. The airplane logged approximately 75.7 hours from the time of the annual inspection to the time of the accident. An examination of the airplane's engine revealed that three teeth from the camshaft gear were fractured. An additional eight teeth were crushed, in total rendering the camshaft unable to be driven. A Materials Laboratory examination of the camshaft gear and fractured gear teeth showed two of the three teeth indicating signs of fatigue. The third tooth showed evidence of overstress. Rockwell hardness measurements made on the gear portion of the camshaft gear showed an average hardness of Rockwell 64HR30-N. Specification drawings for the camshaft gear indicated that the gear teeth should be hardened by gas-nitride process to a hardness of Rockwell 69HR30-N, minimum.

History of flight

On July 19, 2001, at 1730 central daylight time, a Mooney M-20R, N2HW, owned and operated by a private pilot, was destroyed when it impacted trees and a road in a residential area 1 1/2 miles west of the Flying Cloud Airport (FCM), Eden Prairie, Minnesota. A post-crash fire ensued. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The personal flight was operating on an instrument flight rules flight plan from Eden Prairie, Minnesota, to Aberdeen, South Dakota, under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91. The pilot was fatally injured. The cross-country flight was originating at the time of the accident.

According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) review of FCM Air Traffic Control Tower communications, just after takeoff the tower controller instructed the pilot to contact departure control. Immediately after the instructions were transmitted, the pilot responded, "two hotel whiskey". A "click" was heard. Then the pilot transmitted, "engine failure".

A witness to the accident said that she was working in the front yard and driveway of her home when she saw the airplane proceeding westbound from FCM at a low altitude. She said that the airplane was approximately 1,200 feet away. She said, "I watched and listened thinking he would soon apply power and climb. The engine noise was smooth sounding but low. The plane was not gaining altitude and slowly losing altitude." The witness said the airplane flew parallel to, and north of the road in front of her house. "As it crossed the point of my driveway, the plane banked slightly, hit the tree tops and crashed and exploded."

Another witness who saw the airplane said it was flying the normal path but it was much lower than normal. The witness said, "The plane went down then pulled up and went left over the trees behind our house. The plane did not right itself." The witness said he saw the airplane go out of sight into the trees. A few seconds later, the witness said he saw smoke and flames.

Personnel information

The pilot held a private pilot certificate with single-engine land and instrument airplane ratings issued on November 18, 1995.

The pilot held a third class medical certificate dated May 5, 2000. The certificate indicated no limitations.

According to his logbook and supplemental records provided by the airplane's co-owner, the pilot had 631.9 total flying hours, 619.3 hours were in single-engine land airplanes, and 382.3 hours were in the make and model of the accident airplane. His logbook showed that the pilot completed a flight review on September 4, 2000.

Aircraft information

The airplane was a 1996 Mooney M-20R, serial number 29-0099. The airplane was privately co-owned and operated by the pilot and his brother-in-law, and was used for business and pleasure. The airplane was certified in the normal category.

The airframe records showed the airplane underwent an annual inspection on February 5, 2001. At the annual inspection, a factory new IO-550-G6B engine (serial number 684937) was installed. The airframe time recorded at the annual inspection was 263.8 hours. The last recorded maintenance performed on the airplane was done on June 20, 2001. The recorded airframe time was 335.6 hours. According to information provided by the airplane's co-owner, the airplane was flown approximately 3.9 additional hours between June 20, 2001, and the accident date.

Wreckage and impact information

The NTSB on scene investigation began on July 20, 2001, at 0915. The accident site was located along the south edge of Beverly Drive, an east- west running paved road, and in the front yard of a residence in Eden Prairie.

The accident site began with a 6-foot long, 6-inch wide, and 2-inch deep ground scar that ran along a 170-degree heading, and ended at the north edge of the road. At the beginning of the ground scar were several small pieces of clear Plexiglas. Preceding the ground scar and located 40 feet north of the road was a 16-foot long, 10-inch diameter trunk of an elm tree. The tree trunk was pushed over and broken at the roots and fell along the south edge of a ditch along a 150-degree magnetic heading. The top part of the trunk was broken laterally from north to south. The remaining portion of the trunk, including the top branches and leave, rested in the middle of the road. The top of the tree was oriented so the trunk ran north to south along a 180-degree magnetic heading. Also preceding the road, approximately 15 feet west of the ground scar and 12 feet north of the road edge was another damaged elm tree. Several of the top branches were broken along a 45-degree angle running southwest to northeast. Broken branches and leaves from the elm tree were found on the road and in the yard on the south edge of the road.

Beginning at the north edge of the road and proceeding across the road from north to south were a series of parallel-running scrapes and gouges in the asphalt. The scrapes beginning at the north side of the road curved slightly toward a 1602-degree magnetic heading. Passing the center of the road, the scrapes became deeper and curved toward a 135-degree magnetic heading until reaching the south edge of the road. The series of scrapes were 51 inches at its widest point near the south edge of the road. Scrapes within 5 feet of the road's south edge showed gouges that were 1 to 1.5 inches deep. Also running parallel among the scraps were several white-colored smears on the road surface. The smear color was similar to the white color-scheme used on the accident airplane.

The airplane's right wing tip rested on the road approximately 21 feet from the beginning of the ground scar. The wing tip was broken longitudinally along the rivet line. The clear Plexiglas cover over the strobe and position lights was broken out.

The airplane's right aileron rested along the south edge of the road approximately 32 feet from the beginning of the ground scar on a 156-degree magnetic heading. A burned area of grass, approximately 7 feet long east-to-west and 6 feet long south-to-north surrounded the right aileron. The aileron was broken out at the hinges and actuator arm. The aileron surface was bent upward and twisted aft at its outboard edge and running approximately 12 inches inboard. The surface showed smoke damage and soot.

The airplane's main wreckage was approximately 49 feet from the beginning of the ground scar, on a 156-degree magnetic heading. The main wreckage included the engine, propeller, top cowling, cabin floor, tube structure outlining the cabin, the wings, aft fuselage, and the empennage. The engine, propeller, and remaining cabin were oriented on a 090-degree magnetic heading.

Preceding the main wreckage was a small 6-inch diameter birch tree that was broken and pushed over at the roots. The birch tree was broken laterally 4-feet up the trunk from the roots. Large areas of bark were scraped away from the trunk on one side. The trunk was oriented on a southerly heading and ended at the main wreckage. Portions of the trunk were charred.

The top cowling was broken off and rested in front of the propeller. The propeller spinner was crushed inward on two sides. Longitudinal-running scraps were observed in the crushed in areas. The three-bladed propeller remained attached to the engine at the flange. One propeller blade was bent aft, twisted and curled. The front face of the blade showed deep parallel-running scratches beginning near hub and running outward toward the blade tip. The second blade was bent aft slightly. The third blade was bent forward slightly at mid-span. The blade tip showed deep scratches in the edge. The airplane's bottom cowling was charred, melted and consumed by fire. The airplane's engine was broken at the mounts and canted 75 degrees to the right. The bottom and left side of the engine were charr