- Date
- May 28, 1990, 12:42 local (19:42 UTC)
- Place
- Apache Junction, AZ
- Injuries
- 2 minor, 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N8118EMooney M20A
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 9, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19900528017679A
- Case key
- 26823
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
Failure of the pilot in command to properly manage the aircraft fuel quantity gauge indication and failure to complete the proper emergency procedure by switching fuel tanks. Contributing to the accident was improper maintenance performed by the pilot which diverted his attention from the diagnosis of the proper emergency procedure.
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
A Mooney M20 collided with a gravel pit during the landing roll after a forced landing. The pilot made two attempts to complete the flight. The first attempt was aborted due to the mixture control cable breaking. The pilot safety wired the carburetor to the full rich position. When the pilot took off the second time he had fuel tank selector switched to a fuel cell with only thirty five minutes of fuel. The aircraft is equipped with a single fuel quantity gauge which is switchable to read the quantity in only one of the fuel cells. The fuel quantity gauge was switched to read the fuel quantity of the other fuel cell, which contained about one hour of fuel. After about thirty minutes of flight the engine lost power. The pilot thought the power loss was related to the discrepancy with the mixture control. He did not attempt to switch tanks. The pilot executed an off airport landing in rough terrain resulting in substantial damage.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N8118E
- Reported as
- Mooney M20A
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 1389
- Airframe hours
- 3,317
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360-AIA, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Duard R. Harnagel
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · November 18, 1989 · 59 hours before
- Departed
- P13 · Globe, AZ
- Destination
- FFZ · Mesa, AZ
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
- 48
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 1,606 total · 616 in this make and model · 1,606 as pilot in command · 45 in the last 90 days · 9 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 25° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 40 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 10,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 84 °F, dew point 41 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.