Mooney M20S accident near Olathe, KS
On December 31, 2019, a Mooney M20S (airplane) was involved in an accident near Olathe, KS. 2 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- December 31, 2019
- Place
- Olathe, KS
- Aircraft
- Mooney M20S · Airplane
- Injuries
- 2 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 38.846°N, 94.736°W
- NTSB ID
- 20191231X83852
Official records · CEN20FA049
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
Air traffic control records
- Memorandum For Record A�� Communication Summary Of Mr D Dewalt To Inspector Marc Gibson: Document (PDF), on ntsb.gov
- Memorandum For Record A�� Communication Summary -- D Dewalt Follow Up: Document (PDF), on ntsb.gov
- Memorandum For Record A�� Communication Summary -- Bob Cabe Cfi: Document (PDF), on ntsb.gov
- Miscellaneous Information - Communication Summary -- D Maxwell: Document (PDF), on ntsb.gov
- Air Traffic Control - Playback Of Opsvue Radar Data: Document (MP4), on ntsb.gov
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn December 31, 2019, about 1606 central standard time, a Mooney M20S airplane, N602TF, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Olathe, Kansas. The pilot and the passenger were fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. A witness reported that he observed the accident at Johnson County Executive Airport (OJC), Olathe, Kansas. He said the accident pilot and a passenger flew in from Little Rock, Arkansas, to view an airplane that was for sale. The witness saw the pilot before he took off and observed “nothing out of the ordinary” regarding the pilot’s behavior and “no red flags” with respect to the pilot’s actions. The witness watched them take off for a return flight to their home base; he did not notice anything out of the ordinary on the airplane’s initial rollout. He indicated that, during the engine power-up, “all” sounded and looked normal. However, he noticed that the airplane rotated at a much slower speed than would be expected and immediately started to climb at a very high pitch attitude. The witness reported that as the airplane gained altitude, it appeared to fly slower to the point that the left wing stalled, “causing the [air]plane to nose over and continue its trajectory straight into the ground just east of the runway.” The witness stated that the engine power was “on” throughout the entire flight with no odd sounds noted. A review of videos taken near the accident site was consistent with the witness statement regarding the flight. The airplane did not exhibit
Probable cause
The pilot’s failure to set the elevator trim properly for takeoff, which resulted in an exceedance of the airplane’s critical angle of attack during climb out, an aerodynamic stall, and the subsequent impact with terrain.
More accidents in KS
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Browse: Kansas · Mooney aircraft
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
