six gear collapses & gear ups in one week

[cliffy]

Call for the Grim Reaper   Call for the Grim Reaper     ( a paraphrase of Cleavon Little in Blazin Saddles, one of the best movies ever made)

[philiplane]

M20J nose gear collapsed during taxi for takeoff, Easton MD July 12th.

[philiplane]

and we couldn't go three full days without another gear up, this time an M20G in Richland WA on July 14th. 

Two days after that, an M20P lost engine power and landed in a field in Boyd TX. 

I'll have to run the tally for the year so far. We are definitely wrecking them at a good rate this year.

[Marauder]

31 minutes ago, philiplane said:

and we couldn't go three full days without another gear up, this time an M20G in Richland WA on July 14th. 

Two days after that, an M20P lost engine power and landed in a field in Boyd TX. 

I'll have to run the tally for the year so far. We are definitely wrecking them at a good rate this year.

Where are you getting these from?

[philiplane]

29 minutes ago, Marauder said:

Where are you getting these from?

The FAA daily incident reports that go into the ASIAS database. 

https://www.asias.faa.gov/apex/f?p=100:93:::NO:::

[Hank]

3 hours ago, philiplane said:

an M20P lost engine power and landed in a field in Boyd TX. 

Any way to find out the model on that one? M20-P is just ATC-speak for non-turbo Mooney.

[philiplane]

1 hour ago, Hank said:

Any way to find out the model on that one? M20-P is just ATC-speak for non-turbo Mooney.

Actually, what are the odds...it is an M20G. Two G's (of the 119 registered) crunch in the same week.

[larrynimmo]

On 7/14/2020 at 11:13 AM, philiplane said:

M20J nose gear collapsed during taxi for takeoff, Easton MD July 12th.

My home base is Easton md...thank goodness it wasn’t me

[philiplane]

Mooney M20J collapsed right gear upon landing, veered off runway, Block Island RI on 7-18-20. 

Going to run out of Mooneys soon at this rate.

[kortopates]

1 hour ago, philiplane said:

Mooney M20J collapsed right gear upon landing, veered off runway, Block Island RI on 7-18-20. 

Going to run out of Mooneys soon at this rate.

Yep, that's 5 Mooney incidents in 10 days. At one every two days, the rare Mooney bird will become extinct before I am gone

[MooneyMitch]

15 minutes ago, kortopates said:

Yep, that's 5 Mooney incidents in 10 days. At one every two days, the rare Mooney bird will become extinct before I am gone

That’s a sad perspective.

[MooneyMitch]

1 hour ago, philiplane said:

Mooney M20J collapsed right gear upon landing, veered off runway, Block Island RI on 7-18-20. 

Going to run out of Mooneys soon at this rate.

Repairable, not extinct..... I hope. 

[carusoam]

Block island is similar to Other fancy small islands... not much available in terms of service...

If anyone is looking for Block... it is between Martha’s Vineyard and Long Island... in a chain...

This will make an interesting recovery project for somebody...

Best regards,

-a-

[HRM]

9 hours ago, kortopates said:

Yep, that's 5 Mooney incidents in 10 days. At one every two days, the rare Mooney bird will become extinct before I am gone

What's going to become extinct is realistic insurance rates.

[kortopates]

12 hours ago, MooneyMitch said:

Repairable, not extinct..... I hope. 

I think the sad reality is that the  vintage Mooney fleet has become disposable, none are insured enough to warrant repair by insurance. That leaves them to the fate of the  salvage mechanics but when the planes salvageable parts will yield more of profit than their repair due to depressed market value, fewer and fewer will fly again every year. 

 

3 hours ago, HRM said:

What's going to become extinct is realistic insurance rates.

True, and in part due to less competition and a shrinking # of pilots when owners get a check for their loss and inability to insure a replacement bird for next few years.

The declining pilots, declining fleet due to the incident record could all be contributing to positive feedback loop towards killing our brand if the status quo continues unabated.

[HRM]

37 minutes ago, kortopates said:

I think the sad reality is that the  vintage Mooney fleet has become disposable...

Yup, I am getting ready to part out The Mistress because she isn't worth saving. It's sad.

[kortopates]

2 hours ago, HRM said:

Yup, I am getting ready to part out The Mistress because she isn't worth saving. It's sad.

I hope not! and not what I said or suggested, but should The Mistress or should I say  when the typical insured Vintage Mooney is involved in a gear up or similar incident the insurance company will be doing exactly that. The repair cost will exceed their loss over writing a check for the hull value considering they'll re-coop about 1/3 of the hull value as salvage value.   

Edited July 21, 2020 by kortopates

[philiplane]

Another M20J geared up on July 22nd, in Georgetown KY. Right on schedule, every four days or less. Who's next?

 

Edited July 24, 2020 by philiplane

[Mooneymite]

My neighbor has two Mooneys, an E and an F which he has stored in his hangar for about 20 years.  Either could be returned to flying status relatively cheaply, but airworthy and sellable are two different worlds.  He is computing the cost of paint, interior, up-dated panel and he keeps reaching the conclusion that parting them out will be cheaper than restoration.

2 more sound Mooneys off the registry?

[EricJ]

It's not just Mooneys!  

https://www.planeandpilotmag.com/news/pilot-talk/2020/07/22/video-special-king-air-gear-collapses-on-landing/

 

[cliffy]

And we expect someone to spend millions to certify after market equipment to a diminishing supply of a half century old airplane fleet that isn't even being made anymore?   Hmmmm

We have a 231 sitting on the ramp here for 5 years that taxied into a cement ditch and bent every panel on the airplane. We have only to look into the mirror to see the greatest danger to the Mooney fleet. 

Just talked with someone yesterday that flew through here that delivers new airplanes and says they delivered 9 new airplanes in 1 week.  He can get contracts to deliver them every day if he wants (at $1000/day). He could work every day of the month if he wanted. His local area has flight training and is booked up with a 6 month wait for training and the Instructors charge is $140/hr. Many instructors involved. 

He doesn't work for Cirrus but  he says he's seeing the average new plane customer coming through as someone 30 - 50 yrs old

And Mooney marketed to who? A stodgy older class of pilots in their 60s for the most part? Did any of their ads bend toward younger pilots? 

Back to the previously scheduled program- I said it a long time ago right here- "we wreck'm faster than we build them". The end will come when their are no more to wreck. The Mooney world gets smaller each week. September song?

[hammdo]

I’m considering this:

https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/avpages/voicegearalert.php

approved for Mooneys...

-Don

 

[carusoam]

Don,

I was hoping to hear what it sounded like....

I figured go to their website, and see if they have any recorded messages to share...

It would be really cool to be able to record your own messages with various nagging voices... or calm, gentle, soothing voices...  
 

http://www.flyingsafer.com/voice-warning-devices.html

 

Unfortunately, I didn’t see any...

Best regards,

-a-

[kortopates]

And we expect someone to spend millions to certify after market equipment to a diminishing supply of a half century old airplane fleet that isn't even being made anymore?   Hmmmm
We have a 231 sitting on the ramp here for 5 years that taxied into a cement ditch and bent every panel on the airplane. We have only to look into the mirror to see the greatest danger to the Mooney fleet. 
Just talked with someone yesterday that flew through here that delivers new airplanes and says they delivered 9 new airplanes in 1 week.  He can get contracts to deliver them every day if he wants (at $1000/day). He could work every day of the month if he wanted. His local area has flight training and is booked up with a 6 month wait for training and the Instructors charge is $140/hr. Many instructors involved. 
He doesn't work for Cirrus but  he says he's seeing the average new plane customer coming through as someone 30 - 50 yrs old
And Mooney marketed to who? A stodgy older class of pilots in their 60s for the most part? Did any of their ads bend toward younger pilots? 
Back to the previously scheduled program- I said it a long time ago right here- "we wreck'm faster than we build them". The end will come when their are no more to wreck. The Mooney world gets smaller each week. September song?

Seriously -that 231 that taxied off the runway into a ditch at night is still sitting there?!?! I assume it couldn’t have been insured. That is so sad to hear.


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[hammdo]

That’s funny, I asked their support those exact questions ;o)

Waiting to hear back...

-Don