- Date
- June 6, 2002, 16:41 local (21:41 UTC)
- Place
- Minneapolis, MN
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N201YMooney M20J
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 24, 2002
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20020606013699A
- Case key
- 54866
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 failure to maintain control of the aircraft during an aborted landing.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The airplane received substantial damaged during an aborted landing. The pilot reported that the airplane started to porpoise during landing, and the pilot elected to abort the landing. During the attempted aborted landing, the left wing struck the ground and the airplane came to a stop on its belly.
Factual narrative
On June 6, 2002, at 1641 central daylight time, a Mooney M20J, N201Y, operated by Northland Aircraft Services as a rental airplane, was substantially damaged during an aborted landing on runway 14R (3,266 feet by 75 feet, asphalt) at the Crystal Airport (MIC), Minneapolis, Minnesota. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight was not operating on a flight plan. The private pilot was uninjured. The flight originated from the Wilder Airport (6E5), DeSmet, South Dakota, at 1530, and was en route to MIC.
The pilot stated in a written statement, "...Approach was perfect, on the VASI lights, 1 knotch of flaps, then full flaps. Crab during approach, change to slip on short final. Touchdown on windward wheel [approximately] 75 kts. Then gust of wind picked me up. I pulled power full off, wheel back, but plane started 'porpoising' and blowing sideways toward downwind side of runway. I aborted landing, full power and wings level. But wind blew plane off course toward east. There was no climbing and now heading toward hangers on east side. I turned to NE and left wing stuck ground. Plane struck grass sideways on belly and came to stop."
The automated surface observing system at MIC, recorded at 1653: wind from 170 degrees at 14 kts gusting to 23 kts.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N201Y
- Reported as
- Mooney M20J
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 24-1206
- Airframe hours
- 3,411
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-360 A3B6D, 200 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Northland Aircraft Services
- Registered owner
- Discover Aviation Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · March 8, 2002 · 6.2 hours before
- Departed
- 6E5 · DeSmet, MN
- Destination
- MIC · Minneapolis, MN
- Flight plan
- Unknown
- Airport
- MIC · Crystal, runway 14R, 3,266 × 75 ft, asphalt
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
- 54
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Last flight review
- April 19, 2002
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 1,213 total · 20 in this make and model · 1,017 as pilot in command · 32 in the last 90 days · 10 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 170° at 14 knots, gusting 23
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 25,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 70 °F, dew point 50 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.89 inHg
- Observed at
- MIC
Docket · 4
The files NTSB released with the investigation on September 17, 2002, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 821 KB 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.