Mooney M20E accident near Cleveland, Ohio, February 11, 1984
On February 11, 1984 at about 7:23 pm local time, a Mooney M20E, registered N1987Y, was substantially damaged in an accident near Cleveland, Ohio (Cleveland Hopkins airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was seriously injured and 1 person had minor injuries. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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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 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 11, 1984 · about 7:23 pm local time
- Place
- Cleveland, Ohio · Cleveland Hopkins · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured and 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Mooney M20E · all M20Es on the register
- Registration
- N1987Y · registry record · serial 274
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PASSENGER REPORTED THAT ON TAKEOFF HE HEARD A BANG & SAW A PUFF OF BLUE SMOKE. THE PLT PULLED THE PWR OFF BUT DID NOT LOWER THE NOSE SO THE PASSENGER, WHO HAD FLT EXPERIENCE, PUSHED THE NOSE FORWARD & IMPACTED THE RWY. POST CRASH EXAMINATION OF THE ENG REVEALED THE SPARK PLUG ON #3 CYL WAS LOOSE & HAD DAMAGED THREADS. ALL OTHER ENG COMPONENTS WERE NORMAL.
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: airline transport pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 9,500 hours in all
- Medical certificate: None
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,504 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, November 1, 1983; 5 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,575 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming IO-360-A1A (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: CLE Cleveland OH at 6:22 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 23R, 6,242 ft by 200 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 240° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 4 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 1,100 ft; not recorded at 1,100 ft
- Temperature: 45°F (7°C), dew point 39°F (4°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 5:51 pm from CLE
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 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.
Other NTSB records under N1987Y the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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 CHI84LA109.