- Date
- March 25, 2011, 15:54 local (19:54 UTC)
- Place
- St. Petersburg, FL
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N201ZZMooney M20J
- Defining event
- Landing-landing roll: Loss of control on ground
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 20, 2011
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties
- FAA/FSDO
- FAA report
- 20110325004339A
- Case key
- 78682
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 directional control during a crosswind landing.
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
According to the pilot, he was landing on runway 18 with the wind reported from the tower air traffic controller as being from 270 degrees at 15 knots. The airplane touched down on the main wheels, and he held control yoke back-pressure until the nose wheel touched down. The airplane then veered 90 degrees to the left, bounced, departed the runway, and crossed a grassy area. It then struck a seawall, went over it, and came to rest nose-down, almost vertically, with salt water almost to the cockpit. The left wing and the fuselage were substantially damaged. Neither the pilot nor the responding Federal Aviation Administration inspector reported any preexisting mechanical anomalies with the airplane. The recorded wind at the airport 1 minute before the accident was from 240 degrees at 10 knots. The airport had a runway 25, but it was closed at the time of the accident.
Factual narrative
According to the pilot, he was landing on runway 18 at a bayside airport with winds reported from the tower as being from 270 degrees at 15 knots. The airplane touched down on the "main wheels," and the pilot held control yoke back-pressure until the nose wheel touched down. The airplane then veered 90 degrees to the left, "did a small skip/bounce," departed the runway, and crossed a grassy area. It then struck a seawall, went over it, and came to rest nose-down, almost vertically, with salt water almost to the cockpit. The left wing and the fuselage were substantially damaged. Neither the pilot nor the responding Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector reported any preexisting mechanical anomalies with the airplane. Winds were also recorded at the airport 1 minute before the accident as being from 240 degrees true at 10 knots. The airport had a runway 25, but it was closed at the time of the accident.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N201ZZ
- Reported as
- Mooney M20J
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 24-0745
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-360 SER, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- FMY · Ft. Myers, FL
- Destination
- SPG · St. Petersburg, FL
- Airport
- SPG · Albert Whitted Airport, runway 18, 2,864 × 150 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
- 52
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- December 16, 2010
- Flight hours
- 300 total · 221 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 240° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 77 °F, dew point 48 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.94 inHg
- Observed at
- SPG
Docket · 1
The files NTSB released with the investigation on April 26, 2011, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 372 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.