Pilot Debrief

MOONEY M20R near New Port Richey, FL — 2025-06-09

Final reportERA25LA273
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Date
2025-06-09
Location
New Port Richey, FL, USA
Airport
FA40
Aircraft
MOONEY M20R
Registration
N9166Z
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
None
Fatalities
0

Probable cause

The pilot's mismanagement of the available fuel, which resulted in fuel starvation and a total loss of engine power.

NTSB narrative

During the landing flare, the airplane floated down the runway without touching down. The pilot felt uncomfortable attempting to land on the remaining runway, so he executed a go-around by adding full power and setting the flaps for climb. About 50 ft above the runway the engine stopped producing power. The airplane was too low for the pilot to fully troubleshoot, so he switched fuel tanks, but that did not restore power. The airplane descended into the runway overrun area and impacted brush and muddy terrain before coming to rest upright. The resulting impact resulted in substantial damage to the wings and fuselage. The fuel tanks remained intact. Postaccident engine examination and an engine test run detected no anomalies of the fuel injected engine. The fuel tanks were then drained revealing about 2.5 gallons of fuel in the left tank and 13 gallons in the right tank. Each tank held 3 gallons of unusable fuel. The pilot reported that he should have had at least 17 gallons of fuel remaining in the tanks at the time of the accident, based on his estimate of the airplane’s fuel consumption and the airplane’s most recent fueling that occurred 8 days before the accident. This estimate was roughly consistent with the total quantity of about 16 gallons that were found during the postaccident examination. Based on the distribution of fuel found in the tanks after the accident, the pilot was likely operating on the left fuel tank and, during the go around, the engine was starved of fuel, which resulted in the loss of engine power. When the pilot switched tanks, the airplane was at too low an altitude to successfully restore power before it impacted the terrain.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

  • Photos
  • 6 docket documents
View NTSB final reportView NTSB docket

Docket documents6

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