NTSB History on my Mooney (N5801N)

[mooniac58]

Another member just emailed me about the NTSB record on my aircraft - which as he pointed out is a remarkable story, and my bird is someone of a legend at the Honolulu hangars because of this...

The official 1996 report: http://www.ntsb.gov/ntsb/brief.asp?ev_id=20001208X06281&key=2

In short, they were using my aircraft to film a TV movie in Honolulu (at the time it was owned by a flight school there).  The Hughs helicopter got to close (or visa versa) and chopped off the outer 3ft of the right wing, aileron included!

In a testament to our tough Mooney's it came back to land with ease.  The Hughes on the other hand did what rotorcrafts do without powered rotors and fell into the drink.

Miraculously not a soul was even injured in all of this.  Lesson learned: when flying in formation, never take your attention off of the aircraft(s) that are near you!

The company here that rebuilt the wing did a perfect job and 12 years later it was actually the left wing that needed the most rivet refurbishing prior to my new paint job.

Never did find out what TV movie they were shooting, but that would be a cool fact to know.

[TurboExec]

that is pretty amazing, I wish there were pictures of the Mooney with 3ft of the wing missing.

[mooniac58]

I agree, it would be a nice addition to my photo collection!

[mooniac58]

wow, that would be great.  You can now get my email from my profile.  Thanks!

[mooniac58]

And I now present you all with the image of N5801N after her wing was attacked by a Hughes helecopter! 

It is small and low quality - but you get the idea - ouch!

Thank you Jim for sharing this photo!!!

[TurboExec]

What a testament to the Mooney Wing and Airframe...

[mooniac58]

Quote: JimR

Craig,

In the "post mid-air" photo, "Cosmo" is written on the vertical stabilizer of your Mooney, and "Cosmo Flying School" on the side of the fuselage.  The NTSB report mentions an "actress" being in the right front seat of your plane at the time of the accident.  Do you know if the "Cosmo" references were just props for the movie that was being filmed, or were they legit?  Secondly, do you know what movie was being filmed?  Just curious. 

 

 The flight school that owned the aircraft at that time (2nd owner) was named "Cosmo Flight School" - not sure what their plans were with the movie - perhaps they had that covered during filming or something.  I never did hear what the movie was other than that it was a "for TV" movie.