Pilot Debrief

MOONEY M20R near Tallahassee, FL — 2013-08-04

Final reportERA13LA363
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Date
2013-08-04
Location
Tallahassee, FL, USA
Airport
TLH
Aircraft
MOONEY M20R
Registration
N1034S
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
None
Fatalities
0
Phase of flight
Initial climb

Probable cause

The pilot's failure to troubleshoot the in-flight electrical problem and restore power using the operable redundant battery and his decision not to manually extend the airplane's landing gear, which resulted in a gear-up landing. Contributing to the accident was an internal electrical short of the No. 2 battery, which resulted in a total loss of electrical power.

NTSB narrative

Shortly after departing on an instrument flight rules flight, the airplane abruptly lost all electrical power while operating in instrument meteorological conditions. The pilot reported that, given the abrupt nature of the electrical power loss, he assumed that it was due to a short circuit; he did not troubleshoot the electrical problem. He then descended the airplane to visual meteorological conditions and used a portable electronic device to navigate back toward the departure airport. During the return flight, the pilot was concerned about a possible electrical fire and smoke in the cockpit and wanted to land the airplane as soon as possible; therefore, he chose not to perform the emergency procedure to manually extend the airplane's electrically actuated landing gear. Upon reaching the airport, he conducted a gear-up landing, which resulted in substantial damage to the fuselage. Postaccident examination of the airplane's electrical system found that the No. 2 battery was inoperable and that the total loss of electrical power was likely caused by an internal electrical short of the battery. When the electrical system's redundant (No. 1) battery was selected, the electrical system operated normally. It is likely that, if the pilot had attempted to troubleshoot or isolate the electrical problem, he could have restored electrical power, extended the landing gear normally, and executed a precautionary landing without damaging the airplane. Alternatively, he could have manually extended the landing gear.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Mechanical failure
First missed decision gate
Pilot could have performed emergency gear extension procedure after power loss.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

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

Docket documents8

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