2017 Mooney Fatal Accidents

[irishpilot]

This post serves to post the 2017 Mooney Fatal Accidents so we can learn and discuss prevention methods in an effort to lower future fatal accidents for our community. I'll break down the info as best I can, and I will highlight possible causes if they are not identified by the NTSB.

In 2017, there were four fatal accidents resulting in six fatalities. I've attached the final reports and discuss the preliminary:

01/2017 - CFIT (final report) - pilot flew into terrain with mountain obscuration 

03/2017 - CFIT (final report) - possible spatial disorientation on takeoff, night VMC

09/2017 - engine out (possible fuel starvation from left side blockage) Final report - Plane crashed with reported no engine. Plane had useable fuel, but NTSB noted fuel blockage on left side. 

11/2017 - possible loss of control (Preliminary Report) - possible loss of control due to turbulence in IMC. No data to back this assessment up other than post-crash interviews from ground personnel from departure point

 

Recommendations/takeaways for us:

1. CFIT accounts for 50% of 2017 Mooney fatalities. Ways to for us to mitigate this is keep current with IFR procedures and associated training. Also, for those of us with autopilots, know when to use autopilots to reduce workload, especially in IMC or low-illumination flights.

2. Review and practice emergency procedures. This especially applies to engine failure inflight. Depending on the model, most checklists require fuel selector switch, fuel pressure verify, mixture, boost pump on, MP, mixture and prop full forward, check mags are on.

3. Review decision making and how it may be affected with "get home-itis". This applies to each of our own personal limits. Some will only fly day VFR, where others will fly hard IMC. The key is to fly at a rate that keeps you comfortable with the environment you plan to fly in. For those of us with Instrument tickets, ask yourself when is the last time you flew under the hood practicing approaches? For those who don't have instrument ratings, when is the last time you flew refresher training with a CFI on maneuvers such as the standard-rate 180 degree turn to get yourself out of inadvertent IMC? Recency, flight currency and proficiency are all tied together when evaluating your personal mins and what you can handle when conditions are less than stellar. 

These are just my observations and thoughts on how to help our community analyze accidents and how to incorporate what we learn into our safety culture. 

 

 

 

Mar 2017 - CFIT (final).pdf Sep 2017 - Power loss (poss fuel block).pdf Jan 2017 - CFIT (final).pdf

[carusoam]

Thanks IP, for doing and sharing the homework on these...

Here’s to improving the numbers each year!

Best regards,

-a-

[Austintatious]

Night takeoffs in VMC in areas with little light are not to be toyed with.  When I first started instrument flying I got vertigo BAD.  Even under the hood.  The first time I recall having it was on my PP checkride when the examiner put the hood on me.  I felt like the aircraft was pitching up severely!  As I progressed into instrument training, every time I went under the hood or into the clouds I felt this sensation.

One night taking off in an Aztec in the middle of nowhere in night VMC, I had it happen.  Man it felt like the nose was pitching straight up.  The good thing is that I had experienced this many many times before so I stuck to the instruments like glue despite my body telling me to push the nose down.   After I got a little altitude, it went away as I got some ground lights in view.

I have a friend who is also a professional pilot.  He was taking off from Riodoso on a clear night in a turbo commander.  He was letting his right seater fly.  They took off and shortly after takeoff he looked down for something and when he looked back up he noticed the nose was down... He yelled " GO UP!"  to the guy flying and started pulling on the yoke...  He noticed just as then stopped the decent the right landing light went out.   When they got back to home base, he walked the airplane and found the right landing light shattered.  He believes they hit a tree and that the right seater had experienced the pitch up effect and thus pushed the nose down.

I have not had vertigo in a very long time, it went away with time in the clouds, but I am always very very vigilant for it to happen again and have a deep resolve to fly the instruments no matter what  I "feel" when I do not have adequate references outside.

I would also recommend that if you are not proficient on instruments, you avoid night takeoffs in rural areas with little to no lighting, especially on starry nights.

[Hank]

Yes, the Black Hole Effect is real!

When I first relocated back to Alabama, I was based at 06A, historic Moton Field in Tuskegee. During the day, I departed both directions, but most of my night departures were on 31, crossing the interstate with signs of civilization all around. Then came my first night departure on 13, and there is nothing out that way but pine trees. I had to go on the gages at just a couple hundred feet agl! It was quite shocking . . .

Ya'll be careful out there!

[jlunseth]

It would be interesting to know how the panels in the two CFIT aircraft were equipped, and for that matter the panel in the LOC-I accident.  In the commercial fleet, CFIT has gone from equal to LOC-I as the two largest causes of fatal accidents, to negligible as a result of GPS.  LOC-I now stands by itself. Even though my moving map is an old technology, it and the GPS would be yelling at me in yellow and red if I were about to fly into the side of a mountain some dark night.  Panels with LED displays and even better, with SVT, make it a step more difficult to accidentally accomplish.

Panel weather has also substantially reduced the chances of stumbling blindly into an embedded T-storm with resultant LOC-I departure.   

A major difference between us and the commercial fleet is equipment level.  We can’t suddenly grow warm wings, but we can certainly invest in the technologies that make our GA aircraft safer.

[jlunseth]

On 2/13/2020 at 12:15 PM, Austintatious said:

I would also recommend that if you are not proficient on instruments, you avoid night takeoffs in rural areas with little to no lighting, especially on starry nights.

I have done quite a few rural night landings and takeoffs and have not had the vertigo problem you mention, but I avoid them for another reason.  One night I decided to land at an unfamiliar small airport in western Minnesota. The only lights it had were runway and end identifier and the runway was short and narrow.  Being rural, there was no ambient light to see the airport surroundings.  I was on short final when I happened to look out the port window and saw from silhouettes against a dark sky that I was below the tops of trees in a tree line.  I looked out the other window and saw the same thing.  So I was descending through a tree line completely dependent on the care exercised by the local airport authority in clearing the flight path and keeping it so.  I have landed at many airports where there is a tree or two right on final that obviously grows, becomes a bigger problem each year, and does not get addressed.  

[steingar]

My last night flight might be my last night fight period, we'll see.  First night flight I had to my home airport, and the first I've had in years.  I put a flat spot on the nose wheel tire.  I feel quite fortunate that was the extent of the damage.

[jlunseth]

How do you flat spot a nose wheel that has no brakes?

[Ibra]

26 minutes ago, jlunseth said:

A major difference between us and the commercial fleet is equipment level.  We can’t suddenly grow warm wings, but we can certainly invest in the technologies that make our GA aircraft safer.

Terrain/weather equipment does helps for SA but we are still highly constrained by aircraft performance, so we end up breaking a bunch of safety rules trying to compensate for that

Even with full picture and SA from terrain/weather equipment (or unlimited naked eye view), we are only doing 60kts-150kts speeds and 1kfpm climbs, that still slow flying along the horizon line and a real limitation to escape from terrain/weather when things don't go according to the plan (airliners do 140kts-500kts cruises and 6kfpm climbs and F16s do 140kts-1200kts cruises and 30kfpm climbs, with the right equipment to see what is ahead I think they are better off doing a 15deg pull up on the stick than me )

[Austintatious]

1 hour ago, jlunseth said:

I have done quite a few rural night landings and takeoffs and have not had the vertigo problem you mention, but I avoid them for another reason.  One night I decided to land at an unfamiliar small airport in western Minnesota. The only lights it had were runway and end identifier and the runway was short and narrow.  Being rural, there was no ambient light to see the airport surroundings.  I was on short final when I happened to look out the port window and saw from silhouettes against a dark sky that I was below the tops of trees in a tree line.  I looked out the other window and saw the same thing.  So I was descending through a tree line completely dependent on the care exercised by the local airport authority in clearing the flight path and keeping it so.  I have landed at many airports where there is a tree or two right on final that obviously grows, becomes a bigger problem each year, and does not get addressed.  

Wow, that is pretty scary... I was teaching ground for the G550 and I met a crew that hit trees on an VNAV approach at night because the airport had not kept the trees trimmed.  They pulled branches out of the gear!

[Austintatious]

13 minutes ago, Ibra said:

Terrain/weather equipment does helps for SA but we are still highly constrained by aircraft performance, so we end up breaking a bunch of safety rules trying to compensate for that

Even with full picture and SA from terrain/weather equipment (or unlimited naked eye view), we are only doing 60kts-150kts speeds and 1kfpm climbs, that still slow flying along the horizon line and a real limitation to escape from terrain/weather when things don't go according to the plan (airliners do 140kts-500kts cruises and 6kfpm climbs and F16s do 140kts-1200kts cruises and 30kfpm climbs, with the right equipment to see what is ahead I think they are better off doing a 15deg pull up on the stick than me )

That is true, but jets always plan for losing one engine.  In many cases, we climb better with our 1 engine than they do on 1.  Of course if Our 1 engine dies, we get to practice our glider skills!

On another note, I am sick of winter... Ive been losing weight and plan on getting some time in my glider this summer!  Hope it is a HOT one!

[Ibra]

Yes, we are better in terms of 1 engine performance figures but I tend to overestimate what my 1 engine can deliver, twin jets just plan for zero performance on 1 engine, so their in-flight choices tends to be very easy (not to fly that 6% gradient SID versus die hard trying), twin jets only run out of mental capacity on one engine between V1-V2

For us thinking about "the unlikely 0 engine scenario" (even with a perfectly working engine) is a healthy thing to downsize on mission exposure to many other killer factors (if I decide to cruise at 4000ft because I am scared to death of low engine failures then I am probably have good CFIT clearance, no risk of LOC-I and with some luck less distractions: nice horizon/view outside and good RT reception ), a bit like flying near convective weather, the real risk is loss of control it in VMC/IMC but thinking about lightning strikes (zero risk but scary and fatal) is a good deterrent to get you down ASAP or not to takeoff

39 minutes ago, Austintatious said:

On another note, I am sick of winter... Ive been losing weight and plan on getting some time in my glider this summer!  Hope it is a HOT one!

Hopefully a very hot one, enjoy !

[steingar]

4 hours ago, jlunseth said:

How do you flat spot a nose wheel that has no brakes?

I'd love to show you but I really don't want to put my airplane through that again.

[jetdriven]

A Aera660 plumbed into the audio panel is cheap and provides reallly good situational awareness around terrain and alerts toy over the intercom.  I’m not a “gadget to save you” person but in this case it’s magic.   Also the GTN750 now has terrain alerts.   It’s nice. 

[jlunseth]

43 minutes ago, jetdriven said:

A Aera660 plumbed into the audio panel is cheap and provides reallly good situational awareness around terrain and alerts toy over the intercom.  I’m not a “gadget to save you” person but in this case it’s magic.   Also the GTN750 now has terrain alerts.   It’s nice. 

Very shortly I am putting in a 750, but one of the advantages we have in GA is the ability to use portables that don't cost $25,000 to display SA information like traffic, wx, and if you set it up right, even terrain warnings.  It does not take a huge pocketbook to get those capabilities in the aircraft anymore, and you can get the portable stuff while the costs and configurations of panel mounted instruments sorts itself out. CFIT has rapidly become a thing of the past in the commercial fleet, it should be so in our fleet also.  The stuff is really good now and it is saving lives.

[RCBass]

Worst landing I've ever made was at night flying into Hilton Head KHXD, it looks like runway lights in a sea of black. But, it was obvious I had arrived... all 3 times! ha...

 

Edited October 7, 2020 by RCBass

[201Steve]

On 10/7/2020 at 10:44 AM, RCBass said:

Worst landing I've ever made was at night flying into Hilton Head KHXD, it looks like runway lights in a sea of black. But, it was obvious I had arrived... all 3 times! ha...

 

I landed at hxd years ago, to come back and discover my landing light was toast. Flew back to Statesboro GA (middle of nowhere). Was pretty exciting. 

[steingar]

I'll necropost this.  I did a night flight a few weeks ago to pick up a little tortoise, but that was after partner and I put in a new landing light bulb.  My bad landing might have been related to the fact that I couldn't see anything.  Went out again at night a week later.  Suck at fining airports in the dark, couldn't even find my home drome.  But my landings were just fine.  No flat spots that I can see.