- Date
- July 28, 2001, 11:06 local (15:06 UTC)
- Place
- East Greenwich, NJ
- Injuries
- 3 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Uncontrolled descent
- Aircraft
- N246JCMooney M20J
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 18, 2002
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA
- FAA report
- 20010728022179A
- Case key
- 52851
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's premature liftoff which resulted in an inadvertent stall.
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 departing from a turf runway, the pilot stated that he "must have lifted off early." As the airplane climbed, it "felt mushy", and started to drift to the left. The pilot then "lost control," and the airplane skidded across a soybean field, before coming to rest upright.
Factual narrative
On July 28, 2001, about 1106 eastern daylight time, a Mooney M20J, N246JC, was substantially damaged after impacting terrain while departing from Peaslees Airstrip (NJ25), East Greenwich, New Jersey. The certificated private pilot and two passengers were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the personal flight conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.
According to the pilot, he was departing from the 2,207-foot long turf runway, when he "must have lifted off early." As the airplane climbed, it "felt mushy", and started to drift to the left. The pilot then "lost control," and the airplane skidded across a soybean field, before coming to rest upright.
The pilot did not report any abnormalities with the airplane or it's engine.
The winds reported at a nearby airport, about the time of the accident, were from 150 degrees at 5 knots.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N246JC
- Reported as
- Mooney M20J
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 24-1557
- Airframe hours
- 2,345
- Engine
- Lycoming IO-360, 200 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- James F. Schultes
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 15, 2001 · 34 hours before
- Departed
- NJ25 · East Greenwich, NJ
- Destination
- 26N · Ocean City, NJ
- Airport
- NJ25 · Peaslees Airstrip, runway 14, 2,207 × 195 ft, grass/turf
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
- 47
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Last flight review
- January 16, 2001
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 584 total · 268 in this make and model · 455 as pilot in command · 12 in the last 90 days · 7 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Variable at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 20,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 77 °F, dew point 54 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.28 inHg
- Observed at
- PHL, 4 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.