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NTSB Identification: CEN12LA198
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Friday, March 23, 2012 in Bloomfield, IN
Probable Cause Approval Date: 05/23/2013
Aircraft: MOONEY M20J, registration: N201QB
Injuries: 2 Serious.
NTSB investigators may not have traveled in support of this investigation and used data provided by various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.
The pilot was attempting to land on a lighted grass runway at night. His first two attempts to land were aborted. According to the passenger, the pilot landed the airplane on his third attempt with only 400 feet of available runway remaining and then “slammed” on the brakes, and the airplane began to slide. After the airplane exited the runway end, the pilot applied full power to abort the landing; however, the airplane only became momentarily airborne before it stalled and collided with a levy.
The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident to be:
The pilot's failure to land with sufficient runway remaining to stop, which resulted in an unsuccessful aborted landing, inadvertent stall, and collision with terrain.
On March 23, 2012, at 2100 eastern daylight time, N201QB, a Mooney M20J airplane, was substantially damaged when it collided with an embankment during an aborted landing on runway 18 at Shawnee Airport (1I3), Bloomfield, Indiana. The commercial pilot and the passenger were seriously injured. The airplane was co-registered to and operated by the pilot. No flight plan was filed for the flight that originated at Sullivan County Airport (SIV), Sullivan, Indiana, about 2040, and destined for 1I3. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the repositioning flight conducted under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91.
In an interview with a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector, the pilot stated that he made four attempts to land on the 2,160-foot-long by 150-foot-wide, sod strip equipped with non-standard runway edge lights. On the fourth attempt, he landed the airplane, but said the brakes did not seem to be working because the airplane was not slowing down. The pilot attempted to abort the landing and subsequently impacted a levy south of the runway.
The passenger told the FAA inspector that they approached the airport as it was getting dark outside. The pilot made three (not four as reported by the pilot) attempts to land, but each time he kept turning onto the base leg too early, which resulted in a higher than normal final approach. On the first attempt, the pilot touched down, but elected to abort the landing. On the second attempt, the airplane touched down with less than 200 feet of runway remaining, so the pilot applied power and went around again. On the third landing attempt, the airplane touched down with approximately 400 feet of runway remaining. The pilot "slammed" on the brakes, and the airplane began to slide. When the airplane went off the runway, the pilot applied full power and the nose of the airplane pitched up. The main landing gear wheels crossed over a dirt road separating the runway and a plowed field, and momentarily became airborne. The passenger said he saw the stall warning light illuminated, but could not recall hearing the stall horn. The airplane stalled and impacted with a creek bank.
An on-scene examination of the airplane was conducted by two FAA inspectors. According to an inspector,the airplane sustained substantial damage to the firewall and the fuselage. The runway and surrounding area appeared to be wet/soft from recent rainfall.
The pilot held a commercial pilot certificate for airplane single-engine land, instrument airplane. He also held a certified flight and ground instructor ratings. His last FAA Third Class medical was issued on July 25, 2011. At that time, he reported a total of 1,300 flight hours.
Weather at Monroe County Airport (BMG), Bloomfield, Indiana, approximately 19 miles east of the accident site, at 2053, was reported as wind calm, visibility 10 miles, clouds broken at 3,700 feet, overcast clouds at 4,600 feet, temperature 15 degrees Celsius, dewpoint 12 degrees Celsius, and an altimeter setting of 29.80 inches of Mercury. Remarks at that time were for distant lightning northeast and southeast of the airport.
NTSB Identification: CEN12LA198
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Friday, March 23, 2012 in Bloomfield, IN
Aircraft: MOONEY M20J, registration: N201QB
Injuries: 2 Serious.
This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed. NTSB investigators may not have traveled in support of this investigation and used data provided by various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.
On March 23, 2012, at 2100 eastern daylight time, N201QB, a Mooney M20J airplane, was substantially damaged when it collided with an embankment during an aborted landing on runway 18 at Shawnee Airport (1I3), Bloomfield, Indiana. The commercial rated pilot and the passenger were seriously injured. The airplane was co-registered to and operated by the pilot. No flight plan was filed for the flight that originated at Sullivan County Airport (SIV), Sullivan, Indiana, about 2040, and destined for 1I3. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the repositioning flight conducted under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91.
The pilot was attempting to land on a 2,160-foot-long by 150-foot-wide, sod strip equipped with non-standard runway edge lights. According to the Indiana State Police Report, the pilot said he had just arrived at the airport as it was getting dark. Upon landing, when he applied the brakes they did not seem to be working. The pilot attempted to abort the landing and subsequently impacted a levy south of the runway.
The passenger told law enforcement that the pilot came in "too hot" and he thought the airplane's brakes were working fine.
An on-scene examination of the airplane was conducted by two Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspectors. According to an inspector,the airplane sustained substantial damage to the firewall and the fuselage.
The pilot held a commercial pilot certificate for airplane single-engine land, instrument airplane. He also held certified flight and ground instructor ratings. His last FAA Third Class medical was issued on July 25, 2011. At that time, he reported a total of 1,300 flight hours.
Weather at Monroe County Airport (BMG), Bloomfield, Indiana, approximately 19 miles northeast of the accident site, at 2053, was reported as wind calm, visibility 10 miles, clouds broken at 3,700 feet, overcast clouds at 4,600 feet, temperature 15 degrees Celsius, dewpoint 12 degrees Celsius, and an altimeter setting of 29.80 inches of HG. Remarks at that time were for distant lightning northeast and southeast of the airport.
FAA IDENTIFICATION
Regis#: 201QB Make/Model: MO20 Description: M20J
Date: 03/23/2012 Time: 0110
Event Type: Accident Highest Injury: Serious Mid Air: N Missing: N
Damage: Substantial
LOCATION
City: BLOOMFIELD State: IN Country: US
DESCRIPTION
AIRCRAFT ON LANDING, WENT OFF THE RUNWAY AND INTO A DITCH, BLOOMFIELD, IN
INJURY DATA Total Fatal: 0
# Crew: 2 Fat: 0 Ser: 2 Min: 0 Unk:
# Pass: 0 Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
# Grnd: Fat: 0 Ser: 0 Min: 0 Unk:
OTHER DATA
Activity: Pleasure Phase: Landing Operation: OTHER
FAA FSDO: INDIANAPOLIS, IN (GL11) Entry date: 03/27/2012
Indiana State Trooper Adam Davis looks over the downed Mooney M20J/201, N201QB
Mooney M20J/201, N201QB, piloted by Brent Sears, of Linton, crashed near Shawnee Field -- shown in the background.
Mooney M20J/201, N201QB crashed on landing narrowing clearing Lattas Creek near Shawnee Field.
Indiana State Trooper Adam Davis looks over the crash site of Mooney M20J/201, N201QB
A civil suit has been filed in Greene Circuit Court against the pilot in a March 23 small aircraft crash near Shawnee Field by the Worthington man who was a passenger in the single-engine plane.
The crash happened about 9 p.m. when the southbound aircraft, piloted by 55-year-old Brent Sears, of Linton, failed to come down on the runway at the grass airstrip, located near the intersection of State Road 54/U.S. 231N (State Road 57).
The crash site was less than a quarter-mile from the airport runway on property owned by Lester Holtsclaw, located about two miles east of Switz City.
The 1977 model Mooney M20J fixed wing single engine plane crashed into the south bank of Lattas Creek, southeast of the airport, during the aborted landing.
Stephen Sutton, 39, and his wife, Jennifer, filed the suit last Thursday.
The plane, which was heavily damaged in the crash, was owned by Edward Woods, of Route 3, Linton, and Sears, according to FAA records.
The Suttons allege in the suit prepared by Anthony Patterson of the Lebanon law firm of Parr Richey Obremskey Frandsen & Patterson LLP, that Sears "piloted his aircraft in a careless and negligent manner."
"As a direct and proximate result of defendant's carelessness and negligence in piloting his aircraft, he caused it to violently crash while attempting to land at the airfield," Patterson wrote in the complaint for damages that was filed with the court.
The suit alleges that Sears is liable and negligent for damages suffered by Stephen Sutton ---- including medical expenses, lost wages, personal injuries, physical pain, emotional suffering and loss of enjoyment of life.
Stephen Sutton suffered "serious permanent and temporary physical and emotional injuries" as the result of the crash, the suit alleges.
In addition, the suit on behalf of Jennifer Sutton, alleges negligence by Sears in causing loss of love, affection, services, consortium and the companionship of her husband.
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) officials surveyed the site of the single-engine airplane crash the morning after the crash and the case has been turned over to the National Safety Transportation Board (NSTB) to conduct the investigation.
A final report on the cause of the crash could take a year to be filed, according to a spokesperson in the Great Lakes Office of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in Chicago.
The preliminary report prepared by the NSTB shows that the flight originated at the Sullivan County Airport about 8:40 p.m. and crashed 20 minutes later at 9 p.m.
According to an Indiana State Police report submitted to the NSTB, "The pilot said he had just arrived at the airport as it was getting dark. Upon landing, when he applied the brakes they did not seem to be working. The pilot attempted to abort the landing and subsequently impacted a levy south of the runway."
The NTBS reported added, "The passenger (Sutton) told law enforcement that the pilot came in 'too hot' and he thought the airplane's brakes were working fine."
The NTBS reports states that Sears held a commercial pilot certificate and was a certified flight and ground instructor with more than 1,300 flight hours at the time of his last FAA Third Class medical certification on July 25, 2011.
Rescue personnel from the Fairplay-Grant Township Volunteer Fire Department in Switz City and the Worthington Fire Territory extricated the two men from the aircraft by cutting the top off of it.
Sears and Sutton were both taken to Indiana University Health Bloomington Hospital for initial treatment by Greene County Ambulance Service units.
Both were later transferred to IU Health Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis.
