MOONEY M20E near Dowling, MI — 2017-05-15
- Date
- 2017-05-15
- Location
- Dowling, MI, USA
- Aircraft
- MOONEY M20E
- Registration
- N9265M
- Category
- Airplane
- Highest injury
- None
- Fatalities
- 0
- Phase of flight
- Approach
Probable cause
Innacurate airspeed indications due to contamination of the pitot-static system with insect remains, which resulted in a high approach and landing speed and subsequent runway overrun.
NTSB narrative
The private pilot stated that, during the flight, the airspeed indicator displayed a lower than normal airspeed. The pilot landed the airplane at an intermediate airport to drop off a passenger, then continued to his home airport, a privately-owned, 2,000-ft-long turf runway. During the first attempted landing, the airplane would not "settle," and the pilot initiated a go-around. During the second landing, the airplane floated again, consistent with a higher-than-indicated airspeed, and the pilot "forced" the airplane onto the runway. The airplane porpoised and continued off the runway, hitting trees, a fence, and a pole, resulting in substantial damage. During postaccident examination, the remains of an insect were found in the pitot tube. A functional test of the airspeed indicator revealed no anomalies. It is likely that the inaccurate airspeed indications were due to the contamination of the pitot static system, which subsequently resulted in a high approach and landing speed and subsequent runway overrun.
Analysis
- Primary failure mode
- Human factors
- First missed decision gate
- Pilot could have aborted landing earlier instead of forcing the airplane down.
NTSB coding
Evidence available
- 4 docket documents