Pilot Debrief

MOONEY M20F near Rimrock, AZ — 2014-08-13

Final reportWPR14LA343
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Date
2014-08-13
Location
Rimrock, AZ, USA
Airport
48AZ
Aircraft
MOONEY M20F
Registration
N7786M
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
Serious
Fatalities
0
Phase of flight
Go-around

Probable cause

The pilot's failure to maintain control of the airplane during the landing roll on a wet sloping runway and his decision to go around before the airplane was configured for takeoff.

NTSB narrative

The private pilot reported that he obtained weather briefings for the cross-country flight and that, during the flight, the weather was not improving as anticipated. The visibility was above visual flight rule minimums and the ceiling was greater than 2,000 ft above ground level, but he wanted to land and obtain an updated weather briefing. The pilot decided to land at the nearest airport. He reported that he had not landed at this airport before and did not know the runway was sloped downhill. Further, the runway was wet. When he applied the brakes during the landing roll, the airplane started to skid. He decided to go around but did not get the flaps up before the airplane travelled off the end of the runway and impacted terrain, which resulted in substantial damage to the wings and fuselage. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. Thus, it is likely that the pilot failed to maintain control of the airplane during the landing roll and then made the decision to go around before the airplane was configured for takeoff.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Controlled flight into terrain
First missed decision gate
Pilot could have chosen not to land at an unfamiliar airport with a downhill slope.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

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

Docket documents4

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