ERA19LA269

The pilot performed a preflight inspection of the airplane and noted no anomalies. The pilot initiated the takeoff roll and noted that the airplane’s airspeed never rose above 40 mph. The airplane was about one-third to halfway down the 2,420-ft runway when the pilot elected to abort the takeoff then overran the departure end of the runway. The airplane broke through the airport perimeter fence and struck a car on a highway just off the airport property, which resulted in the left wing separating from the fuselage. Postaccident examination of the airplane was unable to find any anomalies with the airspeed indicator, pitot tube, or pitot static system between the left-wing root and the airspeed indicator that would have precluded normal operation. Due to the wing’s impact damage, investigators were unable to functionally test the portion of the pitot system between the pitot tube and the left-wing root. It is possible that the pitot static system was blocked during the accident flight, preventing the airspeed indicator from displaying airspeeds above 40 mph and leading the pilot to decide to abort the takeoff, then the blockage became dislodged during the accident sequence.

On September 12, 2019, about 1120 eastern daylight time, a Mooney M20J airplane, N202JB, impacted a car after aborting a takeoff from Freeway Airport (W00), Bowie, Maryland. The private pilot and pilot-rated passenger sustained minor injuries. The airplane sustained substantial damage. The airplane was operated under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and an instrument flight rules flight plan had been filed for the personal cross-county flight, which was originating at the time of the accident. According to the pilot, he performed a preflight inspection of the airplane with no anomalies noted. Then, he taxied to the active runway and initiated the takeoff roll; he noted that the airspeed rose to 40 mph. A moment later he looked again, and the airspeed did not rise above 40 mph. The airplane was about one-third to halfway down the 2,420-ft runway when the pilot elected to abort the takeoff, and subsequently overran the departure end of runway 36. The airplane broke through the airport perimeter fence and struck a car on a highway just off the airport property. The airplane's left wing sustained leading-edge impact damage and had separated from the airframe at the wing root. The right wing and fuselage were also substantially damaged. A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector performed an examination of the airplane's pitot/static system. The tubing that supplied air to the airspeed indicator was secure to the back of the instrument. Uncalibrated pressurized air was applied to the fractured tubing at the left-wing root and the airspeed indicator moved and indicated up to 95 knots. The pitot tube was undamaged and remained attached to the left wing. It was removed and no debris was noted in the ram-air intake or drainage holes. An attempt was made to run pressurized air from the pitot tube to the left-wing root, however due to impact damage on the wing, air was unable to pass through the tubing. According to the airframe maintenance logbook, the most recent annual inspection was completed on June 19, 2019, at a total time of 4,405.2 hours. The most recent altimeter/Pitot-static system check was completed August 8, 2018. Maintenance was completed on the instrument panel of the airplane on the day prior to the accident, however, the mechanic stated to the FAA inspector that the work performed was not near the airspeed indicator.