# NTSB ERA22FA050: Mooney M20F, N3284F, Villa Rica, GA, November 8, 2021 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Fatal · Class 3 · Field · Final report - Date: November 8, 2021, 12:57 local (17:57 UTC) - Place: Villa Rica, GA - Coordinates: 33.798939, -84.911753 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=33.7989&lon=-84.9118&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Maneuvering](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/450) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Maneuvering: Aerodynamic stall/spin](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/241) - Highest injury: Fatal - Injuries: 1 fatal - Status: Completed - Report: Approved by Office Director - Investigation class: Class 3 - NTSB office: Eastern Region Aviation - Parties: FAA/FSDO, Lycoming Engines - NTSB case key (mKey): 104216 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ERA22FA050 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/104216/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=104216 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA22FA050 ## Probable cause The pilot’s failure to maintain proper airspeed and his exceedance of the airplane’s critical angle of attack, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and spin. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Performance/control parameters: airspeed](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062010): Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability · Not attained/maintained (probable cause); cases with it: [Mooney M20F, 6 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062010/cases.md?model=5870214), [All aircraft, 1,681 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062010/cases.md) - [Use of equip/info: aircraft control](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040): Personnel issues › Task performance · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Mooney M20F, 15 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040/cases.md?model=5870214), [All aircraft, 9,295 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040/cases.md) - [Performance/control parameters: angle of attack](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062042): Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability · Not attained/maintained (probable cause); cases with it: [Mooney M20F, 5 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062042/cases.md?model=5870214), [All aircraft, 990 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062042/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Maneuvering: Loss of control in flight](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/240); cases with it: [Mooney M20F, 8 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/240/sequence.md?model=5870214), [All aircraft, 5,002 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/240/sequence.md) - [Maneuvering: Aerodynamic stall/spin](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/241) (defining event); cases with it: [Mooney M20F, 6 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/241/sequence.md?model=5870214), [All aircraft, 1,529 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/241/sequence.md) ## Analysis The pilot was performing a personal flight. The airplane departed the traffic pattern, flew 2 miles north, and then turned and flew west for 1 mile. During the final 2 minutes of the flight, the airplane’s ground speed slowed from 102 to 49 mph. After the ground speed decreased to about 55 mph, the airplane abruptly turned left and rapidly descended. The final data return was recorded when the airplane was about 100 ft above ground level and 80 ft from the accident site. A home surveillance video that captured the final moments of the accident flight showed that the airplane was in a steep descending left bank before impacting the ground. Another home surveillance video captured the sound of the engine until impact. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed no evidence of preimpact mechanical malfunctions that would have precluded normal operation. The propeller signatures, cut tree roots, audio recording, and engine data were all consistent with the engine producing power at the time of impact. The weight and balance of the airplane and flap configuration (either extended flaps of 15° or 33°) could not be determined. Nevertheless, according to the airplane owner’s manual, the airplane’s stall speed likely ranged from 62 to 68 mph. The exact weight and balance of the airplane and flap configuration between extended flaps of 15° or 33° could not be determined. Thus, the available evidence for this accident (the automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) data, GPS data, and surveillance videos) showed that the pilot likely allowed the airplane’s airspeed to decay below the aerodynamic stall speed for any configuration, which caused the airplane’s critical angle of attack to be exceeded. As a result, the airplane entered an aerodynamic stall and spin from which the pilot was unable to recover. ## Factual narrative According to the pilot’s logbook, the airplane accumulated at least 66.3 hours of flight time since its last annual inspection. The amount of fuel on the airplane before the accident could not be determined from the available evidence for this investigation. The airplane owner’s manual indicated that the aerodynamic stall speeds at gross weight varied according to bank angle and flap setting, as shown in figure 3. Figure 3. Stall speeds shown in airplane owner’s manual. On November 8, 2021, about 1257 eastern standard time, a Mooney M20F, N3284F, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Earl L. Small Jr. Field/Stockmar Airport (20GA), Villa Rica, Georgia. The airline transport pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. According to a friend of the pilot, the purpose of the flight was to “warm up the oil” because he and the pilot planned to change the engine oil and check the cylinder compression in preparation for an upcoming annual inspection. According to automatic dependent surveillance-broadcast (ADS-B) data provided by the Federal Aviation Administration, the airplane departed 20GA at 1253:49. About 1 minute later, the airplane departed the airport traffic pattern area and flew about 2 miles north on a 360° heading. A review of the data downloaded from the airplane’s JPI 700 engine data monitor revealed that the exhaust gas temperatures and the cylinder head temperatures were climbing within the normal operating range. At 1255:20, the temperatures began to decrease gradually for 40 seconds and then began climbing again until the end of the data at 1256:12. At 1256:25, the airplane flew west on a 273° heading for about 1 mile, entered a spiraling left descent, and impacted a wooded area about 3.3 miles from the airport. The last ADS-B return, at 1257:23, showed that the airplane was about 100 ft above ground level and 80 ft from the accident site. Figures 1 and 2 show the airplane’s flightpath and ground speeds, respectively. During the final 10 seconds of the flight, the airplane’s ground speed decreased from 71 to 51 mph, increased back to 71 mph, decreased to 49 mph, and increased to 96 mph. GPS data from the airplane’s Garmin 396 GPSMap device were similar to ADS-B data. Figure 1. Accident airplane’s flightpath and altitude. Figure 2. Accident airplane’s ground speeds (in mph) during final 40 seconds of ADS-B data. The pilot’s friend did not hear any distress calls on the airport common traffic advisory frequency about the time of the accident. According to home surveillance videos that captured the final moments of the accident flight, the airplane was in steep left bank before impacting the ground, and engine noise could be heard until the sound of impact. According to his wife, the pilot had flown the accident airplane since he was 16 years old. The airplane came to rest in a heavily wooded area at an elevation of 1,020 ft. Theairplane was upright and in a level attitude on a 240° heading. All major components of the airplane were located near the main wreckage. Multiple trees near the main wreckage exhibited no impact damage. There was no smell of fuel at the accident site. The fuselage remained intact and was impact crushed. Flight control continuity was established from all flight control surfaces to their respective flight controls in the cockpit. The empennage remained attached to the fuselage and was twisted to the left. The horizontal stabilizers and elevators exhibited a small amount of wrinkling damage. The rudder and vertical stabilizer remained attached to the empennage. The vertical stabilizer was wrinkled. The wings remained attached to the fuselage, and both fuel tanks were breached. Both flaps were extended. The engine remained attached to the airframe. Crankshaft and valvetrain continuity were confirmed when the crankshaft was rotated through 360° of motion. Thumb compression and suction were obtained on all cylinders. Fuel was found in the fuel lines, fuel servo, fuel pump, and fuel manifold. The fuel injectors were removed, and none of them were obstructed. The spark plugs were removed, and all exhibited severe wear and were light gray in color compared with the Champion Check-A-Plug Chart. The magnetos were removed and provided sparks on all towers. The oil filter was removed and disassembled, and no debris was noted in the filter. The propeller remained attached to the engine. Both propeller blades remained attached to the hub. One propeller blade exhibited bending at the tip. The other propeller blade was curled, its tip was torn off, and the blade exhibited chordwise scratching. In addition, a root in the ground near that propeller blade was cut at a 45° angle. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N3284F](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N3284F), registered now, S/N 670377, built 1967 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: MOONEY M20F - Registry model: [Mooney M20F](https://openairdocs.org/model/mooney-m20f) (registry code 5870214) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming I0360 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-i0360-series) (registry code 41515, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 670377 - Year built: 1967 - Airframe hours: 3760 - Engines: LYCOMING IO-360-A1A 180 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, October 1, 2020 - Airport: 20GA, Earl L Small Jr Fld/Stockmar, runway 10/28, 4,500 × 50 ft, asphalt - Equipment: Handheld GPS, ADS-B, Stall warning system ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 67; injuries: fatal; flight engineer, commercial, airline transport; airplane ratings: single-engine land, multi-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 3, with waivers/limitations; last flight review December 10, 2020; seat: left; toxicology performed; flight hours: 18,440 total, 11.2 in the last 90 days, 3 in the last 30 days, 0.1 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 130° at 3 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 68 °F, dew point 32 °F - Altimeter: 30.29 inHg - Observed at: PUJ, 7 nm away - METAR: KPUJ 081755Z AUTO 13003KT 10SM CLR 20/00 A3029 RMK AO2 ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20211108020809A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20211108020809A), Nov 8, 2021: Mooney M20F, Villa Rica, GA, Destroyed, 1 fatal. On November 8, 2021 pilot [privacy data omitted] a commercial airline pilot with 18496 hours took off from Earl smalls Stockmar air airport runway 28. The… ## Docket (21 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on August 30, 2023, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=104216. 95.7 MB in all. - Witness statements (item 1, PDF, 4 pages, 203 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=14407510&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Witness%20Statements%20FA050-Rel.pdf - Visual capture of accident flight - final moments (item 2, MOV, 42.0 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=14407743&FileExtension=mov&FileName=Video%20of%20Accident-Rel.mov - Audio capture of accident flight - final moments (item 3, MOV, 523 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=14500387&FileExtension=mov&FileName=Nest%20Video-Rel.mov - Weather reports and records (item 4, PDF, 2 pages, 8 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=12924164&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=KPUJ%20METARS-Rel.pdf - ADS-B tabular data (item 5, XLSX, 279 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=12924727&FileExtension=xlsx&FileName=ERA22FA050%20-%20ADS-B%20Data%20-%20Tabular-Rel.xlsx - Flight track maps (item 6, PDF, 4 pages, 4.6 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=14521902&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Airplane%20Flight%20Track%20Figures-Rel.pdf - GPS factual report (item 7, PDF, 5 pages, 4 photos, 1.3 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=12948333&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=ERA22FA050%20Garmin%20Factual%20Report-Rel.pdf - GPS factual report - attachment 1 - tabular data (item 8, XLSX, 15 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=16069874&FileExtension=xlsx&FileName=ERA22FA050%20Attachment%201%20Tabular%20Data-Rel.xlsx - Wreckage examination summary (item 9, PDF, 17 pages, 3.8 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=14407176&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=ERA22FA050%20Wreckage%20Exam%20Summary-Rel.pdf - Pilot logbook (item 10, PDF, 21 pages, 10.9 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=14498231&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=N3284F%20Pilot%20Logbook_Redacted-Rel.pdf - Airframe log excerpts (item 11, PDF, 14 pages, 14.2 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=12923708&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=N3284F%20Airframe%20Log_Redacted-Rel.pdf - Engine log excerpts (item 12, PDF, 10 pages, 7.9 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=12924902&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=N3284F%20Engine%20Log_Redacted-Rel.pdf - Propeller log excerpts (item 13, PDF, 8 pages, 6.8 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=12924747&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=N3284F%20Prop%20Log_Redacted-Rel.pdf - Engine data monitor - specialist's factual report_ERA22FA050 (item 14, PDF, 6 pages, 784 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=14564655&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Engine%20Data%20Monitor%20-%20Specialist%27s%20Factual%20Report_ERA22FA050-Rel.pdf - Attachment 1 to engine data monitor - specialist's factual report_ERA22FA050 - tabular data (item 15, CSV, 9 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=13225212&FileExtension=csv&FileName=Attachment%201%20to%20Engine%20Data%20Monitor%20-%20Specialist%27s%20Factual%20Report_ERA22FA050%20-%20Tabular%20Data-Rel.csv - Attachment 2 to engine data monitor - specialist's factual report_ERA22FA050 - tabular data (item 16, CSV, 55 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=13226059&FileExtension=csv&FileName=Attachment%202%20to%20Engine%20Data%20Monitor%20-%20Specialist%27s%20Factual%20Report_ERA22FA050%20-%20Tabular%20Data-Rel.csv - Airplane owner's manual excerpt (item 17, PDF, 2 pages, 1.3 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=14500937&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=M20F%20Owners%20Manual%20Excerpt-Rel.pdf - Toxicological report (item 18, PDF, 1 page, 138 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=14407622&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Pilot%20Tox%20Report-Redacted-Rel.pdf - Memorandum for record - autopsy results (item 19, PDF, 1 page, 196 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=14407815&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=ERA22FA050%20Autopsy%20Memorandum%20Of%20Record-Rel.pdf - Statement of party representatives to NTSB investigation (item 20, PDF, 9 pages, 554 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=12924972&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Party%20Form%20Lycoming%20FA050_Redacted-Rel.pdf - Release of aircraft wreckage, NTSB form 6120.15 and other evidence control forms (item 21, PDF, 3 pages, 234 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=14407924&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Wreckage%20Release%20and%20Evidence%20Control%20Forms%20FA050_Redacted-Rel.pdf From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.