NYC07FA159

The pilot of a Mooney M20F, with three passengers onboard, attempted to land on a 2,150-foot turf strip with trees at both ends. During the landing, the airplane touched down fast and the pilot aborted the landing. He then joined the traffic pattern for a second attempted landing. During the second landing, the airplane touched down 506 feet down the runway and the pilot aborted the landing again. A passenger could see the tops of the trees and then heard the engine increase in power. During this time the airplane was observed in a nose-high attitude. Moments later it impacted the ground in a nose-low attitude and tumbled before coming to rest. The investigation revealed that the airplane had landed at the wrong airport (the destination airport runway was 150 feet shorter, and also had trees at both ends of the runway), had been overweight prior to departing, and was most likely over its maximum allowable operating weight while landing. The investigation also revealed that a passenger seatbelt had not been secured properly. During the impact sequence, an attachment fitting had detached, releasing the occupant from their seat restraint.

History of flight

On July 8, 2007, at 1602 eastern daylight time, a Mooney M20F, N9180V, was substantially damaged during an aborted landing at Brooks Field (73KY), Brooks, Kentucky. The certificated private pilot and one passenger were fatally injured. Two passengers were killed. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the flight that departed Harrisburg-Raleigh Airport (HSB), Harrisburg, Illinois, about 1448 and was destined for Blue Lick Airport (07KY), Louisville, Kentucky. No flight plan was filed for the personal flight conducted under 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91.

According to a passenger, the pilot attempted to land on runway 6 at 73KY. During the first attempt, the airplane touched down "fast" on the main landing gear and the pilot aborted the landing. The pilot’s wife then said that the person they were going to visit would "never direct them to a place like this" and "we need to go somewhere else." The pilot, who the passenger described as a "quiet person," did not respond. He then joined the traffic pattern for a second attempted landing. During the landing, the passenger believed that the pilot "overshot" and the airplane was near "the middle of the runway when it touched down. "It felt to her as if the runway was full of ruts. The pilot then said, "We are going up."The passenger could see the "treetops" approaching, then heard the engine "rev sharply," and felt the airplane "go up sharply."

According to a witness who observed the airplane as it approached the trees, the nose of the airplane was "pointed at 11 o'clock" assuming the 12 o’clock position would be near vertical, and she could see the bottom of the airplane as it was climbing.

According to a witness who observed the impact sequence, the airplane appeared to impact the ground in what was estimated to be a 15-degree nose down attitude.

Personnel information

The pilot, age 57, held a private pilot certificate with ratings for airplane single-engine land and instrument airplane. His most recent Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) third-class medical certificate was issued on June 6, 2007. He reported 1,297 total hours of flight experience on that date. The pilot's logbook was not recovered for review.

Aircraft information

According to FAA and maintenance records, the airplane was manufactured in 1969. The airplane's most recent annual inspection was completed on May 4, 2007. At the time of the inspection, the airplane had accrued 4,163.6 total hours of operation.

Meteorological information

The reported weather at Louisville International Airport (SDF), Louisville, Kentucky, approximately 10 nautical miles north of the accident site, at 1556, included: calm winds, visibility 9 miles, few clouds at 6,500 feet, temperature 32 degrees Celsius, dew point 15 degrees Celsius and an altimeter setting of 29.89 inches of mercury.

Airport information

Blue Lick Airport

According to the Airport Facility Directory (AFD), Blue Lick Airport was a private use airport. Permission to use the airport was required prior to landing. It had one runway, 11/29. The runway was turf covered and in good condition. The total length was 2,000 feet long and 100 feet wide. Trees were present 450 feet from the approach end of runway 11 and 1,000 feet from the approach end of runway 29.

Brooks Field

According to the AFD, Brooks Field was also a private use airport. It was located 5.6 nautical miles west-southwest of Blue Lick Airport. It had one runway, 6/24. The runway was turf covered, and in good condition. The total length was 2,150 feet long and 80 feet wide. Trees (20 feet in height) were present on the approach end of runway 6 and trees (50 feet in height) were present 600 feet from the approach end of runway 24.

Examination of the runway revealed that multiple tire marks began 506 feet beyond the runway threshold and continued intermittently on a curved path to a point 1,952 feet down the runway. Measurements revealed that the tire marks correlated to the accident airplane's landing gear geometry. Corn plants, located on the right side of the runway, exhibited damage and pieces of damaged corn plant were found on the runway. Fescue grass at the end of the runway also exhibited damage, along with corn plants located directly off of the departure end.

Wreckage and impact information

The wreckage was located in a cornfield approximately 2/3 mile past the departure end of Brooks Field Airport’s runway 6.

Examination of the accident site revealed that multiple corn plants exhibited cut marks consistent with propeller strikes, which correlated to an approximate 54-degree impact angle. Approximately 2 feet east-northeast of the cut corn plants was a ground scar, which correlated to the nose and propeller arc of the airplane. The airplane came to rest inverted, on a magnetic heading of 254 degrees, 41.5 feet east-northeast of that ground scar.

All major components of the airplane were located at the accident site, and no preimpact malfunctions of the engine or airplane were discovered.

The engine and propeller remained partially attached to the airplane. One blade exhibited S-bending and the other blade was curled aft. Both blades exhibited leading edge gouging and chordwise scratching. The crankshaft was rotated by hand and thumb compression was noted on all four cylinders. Continuity of the intake system, exhaust system, valve train, and crankshaft were confirmed. The after-market turbocharger rotated freely by hand and no scoring, deposits, or coking was noted. Operation of the engine driven fuel pump was confirmed. Fuel was present in the engine driven fuel pump, fuel servo, and flow divider. A sample of the fuel obtained from the fuel injection system appeared to be bright, clear, and exhibited no visible contamination. When the fuel sample was applied to a coupon containing water-finding paste, the paste did not change color, indicating that no water was present. All spark plugs were removed, and the electrodes were intact and light gray in color. All four cylinders were examined internally with a lighted borescope, and no anomalies were observed. Both magnetos were rotated and produced spark at all leads. The oil suction screen and oil filter were absent of debris, and oil was noted throughout the engine.

The throttle, propeller, mixture, and turbocharger waste gate controls were in the full forward position. The electric fuel boost pump switch was in the "on" position, and the magneto switch was in the "both" position.

The landing gear was in the "up" position. The left main landing gear wheel well contained multiple pieces of corn plants, and the nose gear wheel well contained pieces of fescue grass. The right wing was separated from the fuselage, and the left wing was attached; however, approximately 4 feet of the left wing outboard of the outer flap panel had separated, and was located 75 feet east-northeast from the main wreckage. The wing flaps were extended approximately 10 degrees, and along with the ailerons exhibited varying degrees of damage.

A 45-degree right hand bend in the aft fuselage, just forward of the empennage, was present, and the vertical stabilizer and rudder panel were bent and crushed beneath the aft fuselage. The vertical stabilizer and left and right horizontal stabilizers remained attached to their fittings. Control continuity was established from the elevator control mechanism to the control wheel pitch actuating mechanism, the rudder pedals to the rudder panel, and from the left and right ailerons to the breaks in the push-pull rods.

Medical and pathological information

A postmortem examination was performed on the pilot by the State of Kentucky, Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. The cause of death was reported as "multiple blunt force injuries."

Toxicological testing of the pilot was conducted at the FAA Bioaeronautical Sciences Research Laboratory, Okla