- Date
- January 31, 1990, 16:45 local (21:45 UTC)
- Place
- Gibsonia, PA
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N1149GMooney M20-K
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Status
- Completed · report November 9, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19900131020299A
- Case key
- 36607
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 collision with rods in the field as the pilot was attempting a forced landing after a complete engine failure.
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 pilot experienced a power loss and made a forced landing in an open field. The airplane received substantial damage during landing when it struck steel rods. The engine was torn down and the camshaft drive gear had a chunk (3 teeth) missing, and the crankshaft cluster which meshes with the camshaft drive gear was found to have 7 teeth stripped off at the base.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N1149G
- Reported as
- Mooney M20-K
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 25-0606
- Airframe hours
- 1,065
- Engine
- Continental TSIO-360, 210 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- David M. Morrison
- Registered owner
- Fred Danovitz
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · December 5, 1989 · 4 hours before
- Departed
- AGC · West Mifflin, PA
- Destination
- BTP · Butler, PA
- Airport
- NONE
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
- 30
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine sea, Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 897 total · 25 in this make and model · 794 as pilot in command · 148 in the last 90 days · 36 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Temperature
- 45 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.