- Date
- February 20, 1984, 17:33 local (23:33 UTC)
- Place
- Defuniak Spring, FL
- Injuries
- 3 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N3455XMooney M-20F
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19840220003979A
- Case key
- 31085
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
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
While flying at 3000 ft, the eng sputtered & quit running. The plt stated that he tried all emergency procedures, which included changing the fuel selector position. He extended the gear to land on an interstate highway, but saw an overpass ahead, so he retracted the gear to clear the obstruction. After clearing the overpass, he did not had insufficient time to reextend the gear. The acft was damaged during a wheels-up landing. An exam of the acft revealed that the right fuel tank was empty & the left tank was full. The fuel selector was positioned to the right tank.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N3455X
- Reported as
- Mooney M-20F
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 670033
- Airframe hours
- 2,593
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-360-A1A, 200 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Wrede, Burton
- Registered owner
- Wrede, Burton
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Unknown · May 11, 1983
- Departed
- FPR · Ft. Pierce, FL
- Destination
- EST · Alexandria, LA
- Flight plan
- VFR
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
- 61
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine sea
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 567 total · 549 in this make and model · 521 as pilot in command · 33 in the last 90 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 360° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 7 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 10,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 61 °F, dew point 45 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- VRB, 249 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N3455X · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.