Mooney Accident in Texas

[mulro767]

Here's one from the past.  Cessna.

 

[triple8s]

I've stopped a prop on a cessna 150 I was practicing stalls when I was very green and instead of pulling out the throttle I pulled the mixture and kept coming back with the yoke. The prop stopped just before the stall. I would have to assume the prop pitch, cylinder compression, and altitude would all play into when it would stop but I never tried stopping it again. I do know in planes with a psru it is much more likely to have the prop stop if power is lost. Maybe the prop on the acclaim stopped because the pilot had the airspeed on the edge of a stall? Which is where I'd want to be once I was close to the ground

[DaV8or]

Here's one from the past.  Cessna.

 

 

That's brutal. I'm not sure that one had a happy ending.

[chrisk]

It looked like a very high sink rate

[Piloto]

I noticed on the pictures that the landing gear appears that was no extended. It is has hard to ignore the gear warning on the Acclaim. But the warning will not come up if you pull on the mixture instead of the throttle. On the Cirrus, Pipers and others the throttle is a handle while the mixture is a knob. This helps the pilot differentiate one from the other just by touch. But in the Mooney the throttle, prop and mixture are all the same type of knob and close together. At night in turbulent IMC weather on approach the pilot could by mistake pull the wrong one. This also happens when the pilot by mistake retracts the gear instead of the flaps.

 

José  

[jetdriven]

I noticed on the pictures that the landing gear appears that was no extended. It is has hard to ignore the gear warning on the Acclaim. But the warning will not come up if you pull on the mixture instead of the throttle. On the Cirrus, Pipers and others the throttle is a handle while the mixture is a knob. This helps the pilot differentiate one from the other just by touch. But in the Mooney the throttle, prop and mixture are all the same type of knob and close together. At night in turbulent IMC weather on approach the pilot could by mistake pull the wrong one. This also happens when the pilot by mistake retracts the gear instead of the flaps.

 

José  

 

the gear was down, you can see in the video about ten feet off the left wingtip, a main gear is laying on the ground. It must have been one heck of a vertical impact to tear a main gear away like that.  http://www.wfaa.com/news/texas-news/Small-plane-crashes-just-yards-from-youth-baseball-field-in-San-Antonio-258783491.html

 

also, I have flown one acclaim and the knobs are pretty distinguishable. The mixture knob is quite a bit to the right of the throttle. That and its knurled while the throttle is smooth.

 

All this said, the most common causes of engine failure are fuel starvation and fuel exhaustion.  I'm sure they'll figure it out if  that was the cause. However, "unexplained engine failure" is a stubbornly high cause of Mooney accidents, perhaps moreso than other types of airplanes.

[hindsight2020]

do we know if the flight was a long XC? The fuel exhaustion cases tend to occur when people stretch those long distances upon encountering stronger than expected headwinds.

 

I really hope it was fuel starvation rather than exhaustion, we don't need any more "pilot ran out of fuel" fodder to an already dying avocation. Mechanical fuel pumps tend to be likely causes of the former. I know a Cirrus owner who had this happen on descent. Engine stumbled and they glided for a half dozen seconds or so, until they did the mechanical thing of pushing everything forward and click the boost pump on. Voila, got their engine back.

 

As another poster said, it is a Conti after all. That checks tc

[John Pleisse]

Did you do a W&B for one of those missions?  They do fly very nicely and I suspect you'll really like it.

 

The older short bodies have less of a CG problem. 850 useful + tip tanks = 1050.....as much as you can stuff in. Won't fit a 200lbs buck inside..... (no cargo pod mod :) :): )

[Marauder]

You're turning into an Alan. There must be something in the air on the east coast. First it was Alan, then Brett and now you. Scary... I'm holding my breath, I don't want to be infected!

Sent using Tapatalk

[carusoam]

John,

We need to see a picture of the chromed instrument panel.

They were beautiful in a '55 Chevy kind of way.

I thought the extra volume wouldn't be such a need. Since the VHS tapes have all gone to YouTube videos on the internet now...

Best regards,

-a-

[John Pleisse]

Chris....fear not..... just taking flying a little less seriously. Anthony, the panel is 100% original...short stack, non standard, piano keys, rectangle yoke and the smell of the 50's. Tips, speed slope, side glass and Airtex interior......already ordered. I have been friends for several years with Dan Towery, an ABS recommended shop in DE......he is a purest and advises against butchering it with mods. So I will buy some polishing compound for the piano keys. I am scared to death I am going to gear it up on roll out. When I told these Bonanza guys that you can't retract Mooney gear on the ground and that there was a speed sensor, they didn't believe me.

[carusoam]

What kind of music do you guys like....?

A) Ritchie V.

B ) The Big B.

C) Buddy H.

D) Don McLean

The older version of the V tail carries a lot of rumor and mean names....

Hope this isn't too dark...

Best regards,

-a-

[Marauder]

What kind of music do you guys like....?

A) Ritchie V.

B ) The Big B.

C) Buddy H.

D) Don McLean

The older version of the V tail carries a lot of rumor and mean names....

Hope this isn't too dark...

Best regards,

-a-

Too dark for the normally optimistic Anthony!

[Hank]

What kind of music do you guys like....?

 

 

. . .

Best regards,

-a-

 

Personally, I like BOTH KINDS of music--Country AND Western!    But my plane isn't a product of the 50's, it's the descendant of a product of the 50's.

 

How about a picture of them there "piano keys" that I've heard so much about? I won't make any more disparaging comments until then.

[John Pleisse]

Won't be departing on a snowy night without an instrument rating and proficiency. A lest we forget....that fateful N-number is now in the hands of a Mooney F model owner..... Oh....the Big Bopper. You Turkeys going to the DE fly-in Sat a-m?

[Marauder]

Won't be departing on a snowy night without an instrument rating and proficiency. A lest we forget....that fateful N-number is now in the hands of a Mooney F model owner..... Oh....the Big Bopper. You Turkeys going to the DE fly-in Sat a-m?

Which Fly-in? There is a pancake breakfast at my airport (N57) Saturday morning. Mike aka Stinky Pants is flying the 99s Poker Run. My plane's annual may be done by Saturday. If it is, I may fly the Poker Run. If it isn't, I will be stuffing my face with pancakes.

[Marauder]

What kind of music do you guys like....?

A) Ritchie V.

B ) The Big B.

C) Buddy H.

D) Don McLean

The older version of the V tail carries a lot of rumor and mean names....

Hope this isn't too dark...

Best regards,

-a-

Strange you should mention this. One of the YouTube suggestions that popped up tonight was for the autopsy done on the Big Bopper 48 years after the accident. His son was having him exhumed to move his body to another part of the cemetary in Texas. A part where they could put monuments.

Since the Bopper's body was not in the aircraft when they found it and there was a .22 revolver with a couple of spent shells found in the wreckage, there was a rumor he was shot or had survived the accident. Interesting video: http://youtu.be/KAd3gYTR2-E

[DaV8or]

Are Bonanzas really the ultimate certified single? It really does seem that many people do end up there. I expect Byron to go soon. Has anyone ever heard of someone selling their Bonanza to buy a Mooney? I'm sure it has happened, but man, you don't hear about.

 

Aircraft owners always seem to be obsessed with useful load. Do Bonanza owners really use the back seat that much? Do they really have that much cargo to haul? Is it a practical need, or they just like the idea that they could if they ever wanted to? Is it just a status symbol, like a Mercedes or something?

[Hank]

Bo's are easier to get in and out of. The later models with cargo doors make loading pax and large items easier--our A&P once loaded jacks and a spare tire into an A-36 to visit a twin with a blowout.

 

I bought my Mooney when the previous owner lucked into an A-36 at a good price. Don't know what the attraction was:  ease of access; faster speed than the C; higher climb rate; roomier interior; factory AC. My guesses are the first and last.

[John Pleisse]

Are Bonanzas really the ultimate certified single? It really does seem that many people do end up there. I expect Byron to go soon. Has anyone ever heard of someone selling their Bonanza to buy a Mooney? I'm sure it has happened, but man, you don't hear about.

 

Aircraft owners always seem to be obsessed with useful load. Do Bonanza owners really use the back seat that much? Do they really have that much cargo to haul? Is it a practical need, or they just like the idea that they could if they ever wanted to? Is it just a status symbol, like a Mercedes or something?

 

My intention was to trade down (by 50%), modify the mission slightly and have a little fun.

[PMcClure]

Are Bonanzas really the ultimate certified single? It really does seem that many people do end up there. I expect Byron to go soon. Has anyone ever heard of someone selling their Bonanza to buy a Mooney? I'm sure it has happened, but man, you don't hear about.

 

Aircraft owners always seem to be obsessed with useful load. Do Bonanza owners really use the back seat that much? Do they really have that much cargo to haul? Is it a practical need, or they just like the idea that they could if they ever wanted to? Is it just a status symbol, like a Mercedes or something?

I sold my B36TC and bought a M20R. The Ovation had more load and range than the B36. Especially considering a cruise fuel burn over 20 vs less than 15 for about the same speed. I miss the door and filled the B36 to the brim several times. It was also more comfortable. That rear door added a lot of utility. The cost of operation was a killer. Parts are through the roof. The fuel burn at take off was 34 gph! All in, I bet the Mooney is about half the cost to operate. True it was turbo vs non-turbo but the Mooney is so much more efficient to operate. It depends on your mission if Mooney or Bonanza is the best for you. 

[KSMooniac]

Are Bonanzas really the ultimate certified single? It really does seem that many people do end up there. I expect Byron to go soon. Has anyone ever heard of someone selling their Bonanza to buy a Mooney? I'm sure it has happened, but man, you don't hear about.

 

Aircraft owners always seem to be obsessed with useful load. Do Bonanza owners really use the back seat that much? Do they really have that much cargo to haul? Is it a practical need, or they just like the idea that they could if they ever wanted to? Is it just a status symbol, like a Mercedes or something?

 

One of my favorite professors went from a V-Tail to an M20F b/c of the consistent tail waggle that upset his wife.  Apparently he measured the period of the oscillations and determined that it was very close to the natural frequency of human guts...hence the propensity for airsickness!  (He was a been-there-done-that aviator in the USAF, including leading the F-15 test program, commandant of the USAF Test Pilot School, and literally writing the book on flight test engineering!)  He loved his Mooney.

 

As far as the ultimate certified single...I'd say yes with all of the worthy mods.  An older A36 with a lighter empty weight can be transformed into the ultimate with the Tornado Alley Turbos mod (including all the baffling updates), and combined with tip tanks and gross weight bumps to make a plane that can tickle 200 KTAS on 17.5 GPH in the high teens, with a 1600+ lb useful load.  What can beat that?  I'd sure love to have one, but don't even remotely have the budget to procure or even operate one nearly as much as I can fly my M20J.  Currently my M20J is my ultimate single, or at least getting there with every improvement I make...  

[John Pleisse]

The Mooney 201 is the best all-around single, ever built (efficiency, safety, performance, useful load, reliability, overall cost of ownership, owner satisfaction).

[scottfromiowa]

Won't be departing on a snowy night without an instrument rating and proficiency. A lest we forget....that fateful N-number is now in the hands of a Mooney F model owner..... Oh....the Big Bopper. You Turkeys going to the DE fly-in Sat a-m?

Hey, the pilot WAS instrument rated, but unfamilar with the "new" instruments in the Beechcraft. He had requested MULTIPLE weather updates and got a CRAPPY brief...launched into history...

The Day, The Music.....Died.

[scottfromiowa]

PS-I really like the paint on your new toy. Now let me see some pics of those beautiful Art Deco Piano keys...please....Pleisse, Pretty please