- Date
- April 13, 1989, 13:55 local (20:55 UTC)
- Place
- Hesperia, CA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N5909QMooney M20C
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 25, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19890413066329A
- Case key
- 26398
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, the operator of the airplane, improperly maintained the airplane, and during the ensuing forced landing the pilot's inflight planning was poor and that he misjudeged the airplane's altitude.
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 sustained a total, mechanical induced, engine failure. The pilot elected to land on a privately owned, unimproved, airstrip. The pilot improperly planned the approach and misjudged his altitude, landed long and overshot the end of the runway and collided with a ditch. The investigation revealed neither the airplane nor the engine received an annual inspection within the preceding 5 years. The engine oil pump drive gear fractured which caused the engine to sustain oil starvation. The fractured surfaces displayed fatigue characteristics.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N5909Q
- Reported as
- Mooney M20C
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 3163
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Prinzing, Rick
- Registered owner
- Tracy, Gerald W
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · August 10, 1984
- Departed
- 101 · Llano, CA
- Destination
- L67 · Rialto, CA
- Airport
- NONE · Hesperia
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
- 33
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 195 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 360° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 7 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 70 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.