Mooney M20K accident near Mitchellville, Maryland, May 29, 1983
On May 29, 1983 at about 1:30 am local time, a Mooney M20K, registered N9872Q, was substantially damaged in an accident near Mitchellville, Maryland (Freeway airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 29, 1983 · about 1:30 am local time
- Place
- Mitchellville, Maryland · Freeway · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Mooney M20K · all M20Ks on the register
- Registration
- N9872Q · no longer on the register · serial 25-0538
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE ACFT COLLIDED WITH A CHAIN LINK FENCE AND A DIRT BANK ON THE FINAL APPROACH JUST PRIOR TO TOUCHDOWN. THE FENCE WAS ABOUT A FOOT AND A HALF HIGHER THAN THE DIRT AND THE DIRT BANK WAS APRX AN EQUAL HEIGHT ABOVE THE RUNWAY. THE PLT HAD FLOWN THROUGH RAIN SHOWERS WHILE ENROUTE. HE REPORTED THAT HIS VERTICAL SPEED INDICATOR FLUCTUATED UNUSUALLY AND THE ALTIMETER WAS SLUGGISH. ON HIS APPROACH TO LAND THE PILOT REPORTED NOTICING THAT HE WAS LOWER THAN HE SHOULD HAVE BEEN. THE WEATHER WAS VMC BUT IT WAS A DARK NIGHT. ABOUT 75 FT SHORT OF THE RWY THRESHOLD THE ACFTS PROPELLER, FUSELAGE AND LANDING GEAR HIT AND KNOCKED DOWN PART OF A CHAIN LINK FENCE, INCLUDING A STEEL POST. THE LANDING GEAR COLLAPSED AND THE PROPELLER HIT THE DIRT BANK. THE ACFT BOUNCED AND LANDED ON THE BOTTOM OF THE FUSELAGE FT SHORT OF THE RWY. IT SLID DOWN THE RWY AND TO THE SIDE AN UNDETERMINED DISTANCE. (IT WAS MOVED PRIOR TO INVESTIGATION.) EXAMINATION OF THE PITOT STATIC SYSTEM REVEALED ABOUT 3 TABLESPOONSFUL OF WATER TRAPPED IN THE LINES.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,001 hours in all; 174 in this make and model; 20 in the last 90 days; 1,756 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 456 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, July 23, 1982; 67 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,900 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Continental TSIO-360-GB (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: AIY Atlantic City NJ
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 18, 2,150 ft by 30 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 140° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 5,000 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 64°F (18°C), dew point 52°F (11°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 1:50 am from DCA, 14 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.