- Date
- September 27, 1990, 13:45 local (18:45 UTC)
- Place
- Morrison, IL
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N7197UMooney M20E
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 14, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19900927042559A
- Case key
- 14785
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
Improper maintenance of the propeller blade by unknown persons and the subsequent failure of the blade in fatigue during cruise flight. A factor was: unsuitable terrain.
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 accident airplane experienced an inflight failure of a propeller blade during cruise flight. According to the pilot's statement the airplane started a severe vibration and reducing the engine power had no effect on it. The vibration stopped after he shut down the engine and raised the nose in order to stop the windmilling propeller. During the forced landing the landing gear collapsed and the airplane slid into a dirt bank. Examination of the remaining portion of the failed propeller blade fracture surface showed a fatigue crack extending from the leading edge to a point 3-1/4 inches measured in the chordwise direction. The leading edge had been reworked by filing or grinding.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N7197U
- Reported as
- Mooney M20E
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 415
- Airframe hours
- 3,050
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-360 A1A, 200 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Lloyd Crandall
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 22, 1990 · 20 hours before
- Departed
- CAD · Cadillac, MI
- Destination
- F91 · Weatherford, OK
- Airport
- NONE
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
- 47
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Single-engine sea
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Flight hours
- 850 total · 150 in this make and model · 10 in the last 90 days · 5 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 84 °F, dew point -0 °F
- Observed at
- SQ1, 20 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N7197U · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.