Sunday, November 06, 2022

Mooney M20B Mark 21, N74586: Fatal accident occurred December 13, 2022 in Kellyton, Alabama

Those who may have information that might be relevant to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigation may contact them by email witness@ntsb.gov, and any friends and family who want to contact investigators about the accident should email assistance@ntsb.gov. You can also call the NTSB Response Operations Center at 844-373-9922 or 202-314-6290.

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.

Investigator In Charge (IIC): Spencer, Lynn

The National Transportation Safety Board traveled to the scene of this accident. 

Additional Participating Entities:
Clayton Caessens; Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; Birmingham, Alabama
Lycoming Engines; Williamsport, Pennsylvania 


Location: Kellyton, Alabama
Accident Number: ERA23FA087
Date and Time: December 13, 2022, 09:25 Local 
Registration: N74586
Aircraft: Mooney M20B
Injuries: 1 Fatal
Flight Conducted Under: Part 91: General aviation - Executive/Corporate

On December 13, 2022, at 0925 central standard time, a Mooney M20B, N74586, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident in Kellyton, Alabama. The pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was operated by the pilot as a corporate flight conducted under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91.

The airplane owner reported that the pilot worked for him flying various airplanes that the owner managed, and that the accident flight was the pilot’s second flight in the owner’s personal airplane. The first flight was the day before the accident, and the owner stated that he provided “at least an hour” of ground instruction to the pilot before the flight.

Review of Federal Aviation Administration preliminary air traffic control and Automatic Dependent Surveillance Broadcast-Data revealed that the airplane departed runway 36 at the Perry-Houston County Airport (PXE), in Perry, Georgia, at 0825 on an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan to Bessemer Airport (EKY), Bessemer, Alabama. The airplane turned toward the west and climbed to an altitude of 6,000 ft mean sea level (msl). At 0918, the pilot transmitted “Mayday” several times and advised the controller that the airplane was experiencing a rough running engine. The pilot requested to divert to the nearest airport and the controller provided course guidance to the Thomas C Russell Field Airport (ALX), Alexander City, Alabama. Shortly after the pilot initiated the left turn to ALX, he reported that the engine was once again producing power; however, he wanted to continue the diversion. The controller provided the pilot course guidance until radio and radar contact were lost at 0925 about 5.8 nautical miles (nm) north-northeast of the airport.

A witness near the accident site reported that he heard tree branches breaking and looked up to see the airplane “clipping the trees.” He indicated that the airplane appeared to be level and upright and stated that there was no engine noise.

Video obtained from the property owner showed the airplane impacting trees before rolling inverted and descending nose first to the ground. The wreckage was located 5.5 nm north of ALX and about 1.41 nm west of the last radar data.

Examination at the accident site revealed that the airplane came to rest in a pasture, inverted and folded over the engine and propeller. All portions of the airplane were intact, except for the outermost portion of the left wing, including the left aileron, which was located at the base of some large trees about 68 ft from the main wreckage. The fractured outermost portion of the left wing exhibited leading edge damage consistent with tree impact while in a left turn. Equipment was brought to the accident site and the airplane was positioned upright and further examined. The propeller hub with propeller blades attached was impact separated from the engine and embedded at the ground impact point. Examination of the propeller revealed that both blades exhibited minimal chordwise rotational scoring on the face sides and no remarkable twisting. One of the blades exhibited aft bending. The engine compartment and cockpit area were impact crushed aft and the fuselage and empennage were substantially damaged. The engine control levers were in their full forward position. The fuel selector was positioned to the right wing fuel bladder. Control continuity was established from the rudder and elevator cockpit flight controls to the flight control surfaces; however, aileron control continuity could not be established due to impact damage at both wing roots. Examination of the wing fuel bladders revealed significant fuel in the left bladder and no fuel in the right bladder. There was no evidence of fire.

The engine was removed from its engine mounts and hoisted to facilitate examination. Examination revealed that the sparkplug electrodes showed coloration and wear consistent with normal operation when compared to a Champion Check-A-Plug chart. Thumb suction and compression were attained on all cylinders when the crankshaft was rotated manually. Crankshaft and camshaft continuity were confirmed from the front to the rear of the engine. A visual inspection of the cylinders revealed normal coloration and condition of the piston faces. The magnetos produced sparks on all leads when removed and rotated by hand. The carburetor was disassembled, and its inlet screen removed. The fuel screen was free from debris and unobstructed. No fluid or sediment was present in the float bowl. The floats were of the black plastic style and moved freely throughout their travel range. Suction and compression were noted at the respective ports on the engine driven fuel pump when rotated using an electric drill. No fuel was found in the fuel lines during the examination.

The airplane was retained for further examination.

Aircraft and Owner/Operator Information

Aircraft Make: Mooney
Registration: N74586
Model/Series: M20B 
Aircraft Category: Airplane
Amateur Built:
Operator: 
Operating Certificate(s) Held: None
Operator Designator Code:

Meteorological Information and Flight Plan

Conditions at Accident Site: IMC 
Condition of Light: Day
Observation Facility, Elevation: ALX, 686 ft msl
Observation Time: 15:35 Local
Distance from Accident Site: 6 Nautical Miles
Temperature/Dew Point: 13°C /13°C
Lowest Cloud Condition: 
Wind Speed/Gusts, Direction: 8 knots / , 110°
Lowest Ceiling: Overcast / 1000 ft AGL
Visibility: 10 miles
Altimeter Setting: 30.14 inches Hg
Type of Flight Plan Filed: IFR
Departure Point: Perry, GA (PXE)
Destination: Bessemer, AL (EKY)

Wreckage and Impact Information

Crew Injuries: 1 Fatal 
Aircraft Damage: Substantial
Passenger Injuries: N/A
Aircraft Fire: None
Ground Injuries: N/A
Aircraft Explosion: None
Total Injuries: 1 Fatal 
Latitude, Longitude: 33.007645,-85.953344

Joshua Allen Davis
~

Joshua Allen Davis took his final flight on December 13, 2022 at 11:56 in Alexander City, Alabama.  A Memorial Service is being held Saturday December 17th 3pm at The Church in the Orchard, 881 Taylors Mill Rd, Fort Valley, Georgia.   A ride for Josh will be held before the service starting at Tractor Supply (Watson & 41) KSU at 2:30pm to head to The Church in the Orchard.


Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; Alabama and NW Florida

Aircraft crashed under unknown circumstances when diverting to Thomas C. Russell Field Airport (KALX) after reporting engine issues, landed in a field and flipped over.  

Date: 13-DEC-22
Time: 11:36:00Z
Regis#: N74586
Aircraft Make: MOONEY
Aircraft Model: M20B
Event Type: ACCIDENT
Highest Injury: FATAL
Total Fatal: 1
Flight Crew: 1 Fatal
Pax: 0
Aircraft Missing: No
Damage: UNKNOWN
Activity: PERSONAL
Flight Phase: APPROACH (APR)
Operation: 91
City: ALEXANDER CITY
State: ALABAMA

Those who may have information that might be relevant to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigation may contact them by email witness@ntsb.gov, and any friends and family who want to contact investigators about the accident should email assistance@ntsb.gov. You can also call the NTSB Response Operations Center at 844-373-9922 or 202-314-6290.





Alexander City, Alabama - A small plane that crashed Tuesday has claimed the life of a Georgia man. 

Joshua Allen Davis, 38, was pronounced dead Tuesday following an early morning crash, according to Tallapoosa County Coroner Mike Knox. 

The crash occurred on Tankersley Road, just off of Highway 63 at approximately 9:30 a.m. when the Mooney M20B Mark 21 crashed in a field of Price Farm in Kellyton. The first 911 call reporting the incident was received three minutes later at 9:33 a.m. from a person that heard the crash.

According to Knox, first responders reached the scene at 9:40 a.m. with the Alexander City Police Department, New Site Police, Alexander City Fire Department as well as rescue crews all responding to the crash.

Davis was transported to Russell Medical Center where he was declared deceased at 10:55 a.m. Tuesday. Knox said that Davis died from injuries sustained during the crash. According to Knox, Davis’ body has been transported to Alabama Department of Forensic Science in Montgomery.   

Davis, a native of Warner Robins, Georgia, had departed from Perry-Houston County Airport at 9:26 a.m. EST before the crash. 

Alexander City police Chief Jay Turner said the scene was secured and that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had been called in to the scene to conduct their investigation. 


Joshua Davis 
August 2022: Officially a commercial multi-engine pilot.

5 comments:

  1. May the pilot RIP. The good news is that Kathryn’s Report is alive … sorta.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Forty-two days (1,008 hours and 17 minutes) since a new post. But who's counting? Definitely not me.

    ReplyDelete
  3. It looks as though he lost power about 10nm NE of Alexander City, AL ALX and intended to divert there but initially punched in AEX which is Alexandria, LA. That heading took him WSW or north of the airport. Not sure whether it would have mattered.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Fuel starvation… forgot to switch tanks… not sure why manufacturers don’t just have “both” as recommended operating procedures with left or right used only in emergency

    ReplyDelete