Crash at 47N - loss of power on takeoff 5-6-2023

[DXB]

Apparently power loss happened on takeoff at Central Jersey Regional on Saturday, pilot is ok.  Anyone have details?  I go in there occasionally because it has cheapest fuel in the area.

https://aviation-safety.net/wikibase/312151

[kris_adams]

man, hate it for the owner.  fingers crossed everyone was ok.

[WaynePierce]

Everyone on the ground where he landed is dead....

 

 

 

 

 

 

(It's evidently a Cemetery) :-)

[T. Peterson]

Very grateful the pilot is okay. A 310 crashed at F41 over the weekend and the pilot perished. Two passengers seriously injured. Aviation is not an activity to take lightly. Shame about the Mooney. Looked like a very nice airplane.

[Pinecone]

I wonder how many of ones like this are due to intake boot issues?

[Fly Boomer]

14 hours ago, 1980Mooney said:

UPDATE:  October 5, 2023 AUCTION of N262MK.   See details, pics and logs.

https://www.underwriterssalvagecompany.com/Listing/Details/1880083/N262MK-1983-Mooney-M20K

Somehow the Prelim is missing:

Location: Manville, NJ Accident Number: ERA23LA225
Date & Time: May 6, 2023, 14:00 Local Registration: N262MK
Aircraft: MOONEY AIRCRAFT CORP. M20K Injuries: 1 Minor
Flight Conducted Under: Part 91: General aviation - Personal

On May 6, 2023, about 1400 eastern daylight time, a Mooney M20K airplane, N262MK, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident at the Central Jersey Regional Airport (47N), Manville, New Jersey. The pilot sustained minor injuries. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight.

The pilot reported that earlier in the day he had departed for a visual flight rules cross-country flight after the airplane had a new propeller installed. The flight was uneventful, and he landed at 47N for fuel. After adding about 70 gallons of 100-low lead fuel, he taxied for departure. The pilot reported that on takeoff, he estimated he rotated within a normal ground roll distance, however, as the airplane entered the climb, “something just didn’t feel right.” Upon reaching 300 ft above ground level, he stated the engine began “slowing down” similar to the sensation of taking your foot off the gas pedal on a highway. He ensured that the throttle, propeller, and mixture were full forward, but power was not restored. Shortly after the loss of engine power, the left wing dropped, the airplane banked to the left and impacted an open field. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage and wings.

The engine was retained for further examination. 

https://www.underwriterssalvagecompany.com/Listing/Details/1880083/N262MK-1983-Mooney-M20K

I just scrolled through the first page of "completed" sales.  Since we usually hear about every Mooney accident and not much about other types, I expected to see more Mooney than anything else.  Because of our focus, it seems like our airplanes are falling out of the sky every day, but those "completed" sales suggest that all types are well represented.

[Fly Boomer]

1 hour ago, 1980Mooney said:

As they should be.  The number of other brands built and flying are staggering compared to Mooney.  That is why there are more PMA parts for other brands.

Every brand will have its share of fuel exhaustion, CFIT, common Lycoming/Continental engine failures, etc. but Mooney's "excel" at proposing hard multiple times and gear up landings.  When a Mooney does, it is more likely to wind up scrapped/auctioned by the insurance company.  A Cessna 150/152 or 172 may be beat to hell and porpoised by student pilots every day but less likely to need repair.  If it does buckle a firewall it is more likely to be repaired rather then auctioned.

If you look at the Underwriters site they show 19 Mooney's auctioned and 2 Mooney's currently being auctioned.  By contrast, the Cessna 150/152 which was built about 3X greater numbers than Mooney, there have only been 10 Cessna 150/152 auctioned and currently none (0) being auctioned.  And Cirrus, which has now been built in nearly the same number as Mooney's, they show only 4  that have been auctioned.

Cessna built about:

• 31,000 150/152's
• 45,000 172's
• 24,000 182's
• 4,000 Cardinals
• 10,000 210's
• 10,000 205-207's

Piper built about:

• 35,000 Cub's of all types
• 25,000 Cherokees 4 cyl.
• 7,000 Arrows
• 5,000 Commanches
• 10,000 Cherokee, Dakota, Lance, Saratoga - 6 cyl

Beechcraft built about:

• 18,000 Bonanza's
• 4,500 Sport, Sundowner, Musketeer

Even Cirrus has built 9,000 SEP

 

Where did you find these statistics?  I don't doubt them, just curious where they were published.

[Fly Boomer]

3 hours ago, 1980Mooney said:

Searching online.  It is a combination of Aviation Consumer sites and Wikipedia generally.  For more current production look at GAMA Deliveries. 

For instance Cirrus delivered 539 SEP in 2022 (excludes SF-50 Vision jet).  This year through the first 6 months of 2023 their production rate appears to be about 23% above that in 2022 - so maybe they will deliver 600 - 670 SEP this year.   

Another stat is that Piper, since 1930, delivered 144,000 general aviation aircraft.  Wikipedia breaks down Piper deliveries in detail.  For instance I originally forgot to add that Piper also delivered over 2,500 PA-38 Tomahawk's and another 10,600 Pacers and Tri-Pacers and 1,500 P-46 piston Malibu's. (since edited to include)

Putting the scale of Mooney production into perspective, Piper has delivered about 22,500 Piston Twins - Apaches, Aztecs, Twin Comanche's, Navajo's, Seneca's, Seminoles, Aerostar's.  That is more than double all the Mooney's produced.  

And Beechcraft has delivered about 7,000 Baron's and another 1,000 Twin Bonanza's.

I don't really care about up-to-the-minute accuracy -- I'm intrigued by the ratios between models within a make, as well as comparisons between makes.  I thought that I read once that Beech improved their Bonanza statistics by moving some formerly "non Bonanza" airplanes to the Bonanza column.  Also, I always thought Cessna was the hands-down leader, but it looks like Piper built a similar number over the years.

[larrynimmo]

I am so amazed by how many Mooneys there are in my area….(easton MD)…everytime I fly I hear them on the radio, definately a disportionate number of Mooneys

[Pinecone]

11 minutes ago, larrynimmo said:

I am so amazed by how many Mooneys there are in my area….(easton MD)…everytime I fly I hear them on the radio, definately a disportionate number of Mooneys

Hmm, you are barely far enough to warm up the engine (0W3 here)

We should do a mid-Atlantic lunch gathering.

[M20F]

Having been based out of 47N for 18 or so months not a lot of options and not the greatest set up.  Good people though and cheap gas.  I spent more than a few nights sleeping at KMMU when it was dark and scary when I shuttled back and forth to KDPA every weekend.  Glad it turned out ok.