- Date
- April 29, 2004, 18:30 local (22:30 UTC)
- Place
- Front Royal, VA
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N99NHMooney M20C
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 29, 2004
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Dulles, Virginia
- FAA report
- 20040429021229A
- Case key
- 59157
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
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Probable cause
The pilot's failure to maintain directional control during an aborted landing. A factor in this accident was the crosswind conditions.
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 was on approach to land on runway 9, a 2,993-foot-long, 75-foot-wide, asphalt runway. The pilot encountered a gust of wind just prior to landing. The airplane landed hard, and began to bounce. After the second bounce, the pilot elected to abort the landing; however, the airplane departed the left side of the runway, and struck an embankment. Winds reported at an airport located about 15 miles south of the accident site, about 10 minutes before the accident, were from 170 degrees at 11 knots. The reported winds about 10 minutes after the accident, were from 160 degrees at 10 knots, with 16 knot gusts.
Factual narrative
On April 29, 2004, about 1830 eastern daylight time, a Mooney M20C, N99NH, was substantially damaged during an aborted landing at the Warren County Airport, Front Royal, Virginia. The certificated private pilot and passenger were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan had been filed for the personal flight conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.
The airplane was on approach to land on runway 9, a 2,993-foot-long, 75-foot-wide, asphalt runway.
In a written statement, the pilot said that he encountered a gust of wind just prior to landing. The airplane landed hard, and began to bounce. After the second bounce, the pilot elected to abort the landing. He applied full power and retracted the flaps; however, the airplane departed the left side of the runway, crossed a taxiway, and struck an embankment.
Winds reported at an airport located about 15 miles south of the accident site, at 1830, were from 170 degrees at 11 knots. At 1840, the reported winds were from 160 degrees at 10 knots, with 16 knot gusts.
According to a Federal Aviation Administration inspector, the pilot reported 395 hours of total flight experience, which included 80 hours in the same make and model of the accident airplane.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N99NH
- Reported as
- Mooney M20C
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 2364
- Airframe hours
- 1,779
- Engine
- Lycoming O-360, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Richard B. Kleese
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- VJI · Abingdon, VA
- Destination
- FRR · Front Royal, VA
- Airport
- FRR · Warren County, runway 9, 2,993 × 75 ft, asphalt
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
- 58
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 395 total · 80 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 160° at 10 knots, gusting 16
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 72 °F, dew point 50 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.21 inHg
- Observed at
- OKV, 15 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.