Mooney M20F accident near Put In Bay, Ohio, August 29, 1987
On August 29, 1987 at about 9:30 pm local time, a Mooney M20F, registered N9784M, was substantially damaged in an accident near Put In Bay, Ohio (Put-In-Bay airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 4 people were 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 November 2, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 29, 1987 · about 9:30 pm local time · cases in 1987
- Place
- Put In Bay, Ohio · Put-In-Bay · cases near this airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 4 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Mooney M20F · all M20Fs on the register
- Registration
- N9784M · registry record · serial 680201
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PLT HEARD A LOUD 'SNAP' WHILE TAXIING TO THE RWY, AND THE LDG GEAR COLLAPSED IMMEDIATELY THEREAFTER. THE PLT OBSERVED THAT THE GEAR HANDLE WAS STILL IN THE DOWN-AND-LOCKED POSITION AND THAT THE GREEN 'GEAR DOWN' LIGHT REMAINED ILLUMINATED. FAA EXAM OF THE MANUALLY OPERATED LDG GEAR SYSTEM REVEALED THAT THE GEAR HANDLE/LEVER ASSY HAD CRACKED AND SEPARATED WHERE IT WAS WELDED TO A CROSS MEMBER. METALLURGICAL EXAM OF THE FRACTURE SURFACES REVEALED EVIDENCE OF BENDING OVERSTRESS SEPARATION. EXAM OF THE ACFT MAINTENANCE RECORDS REVEALED THAT THE LDG GEAR HAD BEEN RE-RIGGED ABOUT 11 FLT HRS BEFORE THE ACCIDENT OCCURRED. THE ACFT MAINTENANCE MANUAL NOTES THAT THE OVERCENTER CONFIGURATION OF THE RETRACTION LINKAGE HOLDS THE GEAR DOWN AND LOCKED, AND WARNS THAT IMPROPER GEAR RIGGING CAN RESULT IN A GEAR COLLAPSE DURING TAXIING OR LDG.
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: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 4,172 hours in all; 54 in this make and model; 13 in the last 90 days; 6,065 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,920 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, December 31, 1986; 11 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,740 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming IO-360-A1A (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Destination: PTK Pontiac MI
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 22, 2,870 ft by 30 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 20 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 3 |
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.
Connections how this case links to the rest of the register
- N9784M on the register today · the tail number may have moved to another aircraft since
- Mooney M-20 6,245 registered today · the model family and its accident history
- Mooney 5,394 aircraft on the register
- Engine: Lycoming IO-360-A1A 196 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- Whalen Heliport · nearest airport
- Oakland County International · bound for
- Accidents and incidents in Ohio 1,884 since 1982 · 253 in the last ten years
- Ohio 8,531 aircraft registered
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/accident/ATL87LA247.json.
The bigger picture in Aviation Analytics: accidents over time since 1982, by model, by phase of flight and conditions, by place and on the map.
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 does not name anyone involved, its policy at this time. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.