Mooney M20J accident near Salem, Indiana, April 1, 2009
On April 1, 2009 at about 10:50 pm local time, a Mooney M20J, registered N115MS, was substantially damaged in an accident during landing (flare/touchdown) near Salem, Indiana (Salem Municipal 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).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's failure to follow the landing checklist and extended the landing gear.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 1, 2009 · about 10:50 pm local time
- Place
- Salem, Indiana · Salem Municipal Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Mooney M20J · all M20Js on the register
- Registration
- N115MS · registry record · serial 24-0031
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot was practicing takeoff and landings when he extended the landing gear and heard the landing gear motor start while the airplane was on the downwind leg to the runway. The pilot noticed that the landing gear was not down during the landing flare. The airplane touched down on the runway with the landing gear retracted, and the airplane skidded about 500 feet before coming to a stop. The airplane received substantial damage when the airplane's firewall and underside skin were damaged. During the airplane's recovery, the landing gear control handle was placed into the down position and the landing gear extended when the master switch was placed into the on position. Postaccident inspection of the airplane revealed no anomalies.
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
What happened, in order
- Landing gear not configured during landing
- Collision with terrain or object (not controlled flight into terrain) during landing (flare/touchdown) defining event
The NTSB's findings
- cause Personnel issues › Task performance › Use of equip/info › Use of checklist › Pilot
- cause Personnel issues › Action/decision › Action › Forgotten action/omission › Pilot
- cause Aircraft › Aircraft systems › Landing gear system › Gear extension and retract sys › Not used/operated
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land
- Flight time: 3,000 hours in all; 550 in this make and model; 3 in the last 90 days; 3 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (with waivers/limitations)
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,366 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, February 20, 2009
- Maximum gross weight: 2,740 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Textron Lycoming IO-360-A3B6D (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: I83 Salem IN
- Destination: I83 Salem IN
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 10, 2,738 ft by 50 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: dusk
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight 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.
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number CEN09CA244.