LANCECASPER

But yet @whiskytango walked away and there were no injuries. The pilot in the M20C on this post had no injuries and it doesn't look there's a scratch on the airplane. Everyone in that situation makes a split-second decision that they feel is right at that moment. No way am I going to second-guess someone who walks away from that and say that I could have made a better choice. I wasn't there. In googling "highway landing airplane", these came up: https://time.com/6564611/virginia-highway-plane-emergency-landing/ https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/small-plane-lands-on-long-islands-southern-state-parkway/5153466/ https://www.cbsnews.com/colorado/news/single-engine-plane-emergency-landing-colorado-highway/ https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/twin-engine-aircraft-makes-emergency-landing-on-u-s-80/3414552/ https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=806377084222657 https://www.wtxl.com/traffic/airplane-lands-on-interstate-10-in-suwannee-county https://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/small-plane-makes-emergency-landing-on-roadway-in-parkland/3225530/ https://www.wsaz.com/2023/07/15/video-shows-plane-taking-off-highway-after-pilot-forced-make-emergency-landing/ https://www.hurlburt.af.mil/News/Article-Display/Article/3384104/highway-turned-runway-us-air-force-crews-land-on-wyoming-highways/ The only one that I found that had no chance was the Challenger in FL in February. The pilot and co-pilot died but the fight attendant and two passengers walked away and no one on the ground had serious injuries. The crew did a great job of avoiding a neighborhood. And even this funny one:

Let's see a picture of your baffle seals.

My first plan was to paint the panels. I did one and it was OK, but I'm a big believer in doing it once and doing it right. I was having Hector do my seats anyway. I removed the panels and took them to him, he did them and I insulated while everything was out and then re-installed them once he finished. Everything turned out great. Here are the pictures from when I sold it back in 2021: https://www.aircraft.com/aircraft/209401551/n134jf-1993-mooney-m20m-bravo

I would call Hector at AeroComfort and sweet talk him into letting you ship him your side panels (not heavy or expensive to ship in the grand scheme). He will cover them in Ultraleather and stitch the seams. It's the closest thing to a new Mooney interior you'll find. BEFORE: AFTER: This is from a ‘93 Bravo that I had him do. I took out the panels - he did them and I re-installed.

Let me know when @carusoam does his Texas tour.

The two options are steel and kevlar.

What model Mooney do you have?

I don't like the idea of the hardware and software backing up the same hardware and software. I've seen panels with just two GI-275s and that's it. Having one backing up the other would scare me. Especially after a new software release. That doesn't strike me as a real back-up solution and how they ever got that approved is beyond me. Here's one where two GI-275s failed - thankfully he had more instruments (5th post in the thread)

I'm guessing the KC-192 board, but @Jake@BevanAviation is the expert. I had a '96 Bravo with the exact same symptoms while under warranty. Bendix-King would send a loaner KC-192 A/P computer and it would work great and when I would get mine back, same symptoms. After a few times I called Bendix-King and told them I was keeping their loaner this time. They looked up the history and said that would be fine.

That’s a fiberglass cowl. At this point it probably wouldn’t be a huge deal to repair the fiberglass. But with a “dent” in fiberglass you can be sure it’s got small cracks in it, which will spread. If that comes apart while you’re flying I’m not sure what the results would be, but i can’t imagine it being good. Plus if it goes beyond the point of being able to be repaired try finding a replacement cowl for a Bravo. When you find out how expensive it is to fix the cowl and the cowl flaps properly, including matching paint, etc, you may want to make an insurance claim.

The final report came out in 2023 Yet another thread on this same accident:

The last time I saw one like that was 2017 on a 1993 Mooney M20M that I had - and every indication is that it had been on there since new. It leaked like a sieve. The spring action on the drain wasn't working well. I couldn’t get it loose on my own, so until I could get it in to have someone else get it off I actually put a cork in it. Dugosh heated it up and got it off in a few minutes. They replaced it with one much better (Saf-Air) and never had a leak after that. There are some things worth fixing - a thirty year old quick drain isn’t one of them. Lots of discussion about quick drains on Mooneyspace: https://mooneyspace.com/search/?q="Quick drain"&quick=1&updated_after=any&sortby=relevancy

Replace it

+1 for doing the upgrade to a JPI900 or a GI275 EIS on this airplane while you're doing your upgrade. The analog engine instruments will fail on this airplane also. The PSEngineering 7000 series, which has bluetooth, is plug and play for a KMA24 audio panel. The only thing they'll have to do is make an intercom harness to tie into your existing intercom wiring. https://www.ps-engineering.com/PMA7000_Series.html

I helped change out the bladders in a Cessna 182 that I owned with a partner - not a fun job. I learned several new words that weekend . . lol. We finally got it all done and about a week later we discovered that the left one leaked. The company we bought the bladders from replaced it and covered the 2 day freight - but it was a lot of unnecessary work. I’ve never owned a Mooney model that had an STC for bladders so I’ve never had to make that choice. (I’ve only had K, M, R, and TN.)Two of the seven Mooneys, both Bravos, had small leaks which were easily patched by someone who knew what they were doing (Lone Star Mooney and Dugosh). I’ve never had to contemplate a complete re-seal, but eventually it’s inevitable.