Mooney M20S accident near Olathe, Kansas, December 31, 2019

The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record

The pilot and a passenger were departing from the airport to return to their home base airport. A witness reported that nothing was out of the ordinary on the airplane’s initial rollout. However, the airplane rotated at a much slower speed than would be expected and immediately started to climb at a very high pitch attitude. The witness reported that as the airplane gained altitude, it appeared to fly slower to the point that the left wing stalled, causing the airplane to nose over and continue its trajectory straight into the ground just east of the runway. The witness stated that the engine power was “on” throughout the entire flight. Videos recorded near the accident site and the accident airplane’s engine monitor data were consistent with the witness description of the accident flight. The airplane did not exhibit any in-flight fire or smoke in the videos, and a ground fire was observed after impact. The pilot had purchased the airplane about 1 month before the accident and, according to his flight instructor, had accumulated 6.8 hours of instructional flight time. A disassembly examination of the engine revealed no preimpact anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. Review of photographs of an exemplar trim jack screw and the accident airplane’s jack screw revealed that the airplane’s trim system components exhibited a setting consistent with a full nose-up trim. The before takeoff checklist for the airplane make and model includes the step, “Elevator Trim….TAKEOFF SETTING.” The autopsy did not detect any significant natural disease. Toxicology testing detected a muscle relaxant and an antinausea medication in the pilot’s liver and muscle tissue samples; it was unknown why the pilot was using these impairing medications. The witness who saw the pilot before he took off observed nothing out of the ordinary in the pilot’s behavior and “no red flags” with respect to the pilot‘s actions. Thus, it could not be determined if effects from the pilot’s use of a muscle relaxant and an antinausea medication were factors in this accident. A low level of carbon monoxide was detected in the pilot’s blood. The concentration would not be at a level to cause impairment and thus was determined not to be a factor in the accident. Given the available information, it is likely the pilot departed with the elevator trim set to a full nose-up setting as opposed to the takeoff setting, which resulted in the airplane pitching up steeply after liftoff and the subsequent aerodynamic stall.

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.

Photographs from the investigation 48 pictures from the NTSB's docket, as the NTSB released them

Photo 1 – Supplied photo of the accident site.Photo 2 - View of the left side of the airplane at the accident site.Photo 3 - View of the front side of the airplane at the accident site. Broken branches are present on the tree in the background.Photo 4 - View of the right side of the airplane at the accident site.Photo 5 - Close up view of the right side of the airplane at the accident site.Photo 6 - View of the right rear side of the airplane at the accident site.Photo 7 - Close up view of the inboard left wing.Photo 8 - View of the cabin area.Photo 9 - Close up view of the inboard right wing.Photo 10 - Close up view of the engine embedded in terrain.Photo 11 - Close up view of the right rear empennage.Photo 12 - Close up view of the right wing.Photo 13 - View of the engine controls.Photo 14 - View looking aft of the inside of the rear fuselage and empennage.Photo 15 - View of the lower center section of the fuselage.Photo 16 - View of the engine during recovery.Photo 17 - View of the propeller during recovery.Photo 18 - Close up view of the right rear side of the empennage with panels removed.Photo 19 - Close up view of the trim jackscrew.Photo 20 - View of the engine as received for examination.Photo 21 – View of the engine mounted on a disassembly stand.Photo 22 - Close up view of the engine driven fuel pump and its intact coupling.Photo 23 - Close up view of an engine cylinder base nut. The nut is split consistent with being exposed to heat.Photo 24 - Close up view of the even bank of engine cylinders.Photo 25 - Close up view of the odd bank of engine cylinders.Photo 26 - View of the engine with the oil sump pan removed.Photo 27 - View of removed sparkplugs.Photo 28 - View of removed magnetos.Photo 29 - Close up view inside removed cylinders.Photo 30 - Close up view inside removed cylinders.Photo 31 - View inside the crankcase. The crankshaft and connecting rods are present.Photo 32 - View inside the crankcase.Photo 33 - View inside the crankcase with the crankshaft removed.Photo 34 - View of the crankshaft and camshaft.Photo 35 - View of the disassembled engine oil pump.Photo 36 - View of the disassembled engine crankshaft and connecting rods.Photo 37 - View of the disassembled engine oil filter.Photo 38 - View of the disassembled engine during its return shipment.Photo 39 - View of the disassembled engine during its return shipment.Photo 40 - Supplied close up view of the timing mark between gear teeth.Photo 1 – Supplied view of the jackscrew in the trim system.Photo 2 - Supplied view of the jackscrew in the trim system.Photo 3 - Supplied view of the jackscrew with about 8 threads showing. Trim indicator is in the takeoff position.Photo 4 - Supplied view of the trim indicator in the takeoff position. The jackscrew has about 8 threads showing.Photo 5 - Supplied view of the jackscrew with about 13 threads showing.Photo 6 - Supplied view of the jackscrew at full extension.Photo 7 - Supplied view of the trim indicator in the full up position. The jackscrew is at its full extension.Photo 8 - View of the jackscrew on N602TF at the accident site.

The NTSB's photographs with the NTSB's captions, at screen size. Open a picture to see it full size or to report one that should not be shown.