Mooney M20F accident near Liberty, North Carolina, June 29, 1999
On June 29, 1999 at about 4:40 pm local time, a Mooney M20F, registered N7114V, was substantially damaged in an accident near Liberty, North Carolina (Causey 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
Improper inspection of the muffler assembly resulting in erosion going undetected and the rupture of the muffler and shroud while in cruise flight. The condition caused melting of portions of the air induction system, loss of engine power, and the pilot's attempted forced landing that resulted in collision with terrain that sheared one main landing gear and fractured the wheel of the other main landing gear. A factor in the accident was the pilot's obscured vision due to smoke in the cockpit.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 29, 1999 · about 4:40 pm local time
- Place
- Liberty, North Carolina · Causey Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Mooney M20F · all M20Fs on the register
- Registration
- N7114V · registry record · serial 220049
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The flight was in cruise at 6,500 feet msl, when the engine started to run rough. Two to three minutes later the engine stopped operating, and the pilot requested vectors to the nearest airport. While setting himself up for a forced landing, the cabin filled with smoke, and the pilot cracked open the cabin door to evacuate the smoke. The airplane touched down short of the runway and sustained main landing gear damage. Postcrash examination revealed muffler and muffler shroud breaching that allowed engine exhaust to impinge on and burn components of the nose landing gear, the air induction system, and the lower fuselage. NTSB Materials Laboratory examination revealed the muffler failed due to scaling and intergranular attack occurring over a period of time that would have been evident 30 flight hours previous when the airplane underwent an annual inspection.
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: 3,554 hours in all; 29 in this make and model; 119 in the last 90 days; 52 in the last 30 days; 3,439 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,128 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, January 21, 1999; 30 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,127 lb
- Seats: 4
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming IO360 A1A (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: PHF Newport News VA at 4:40 pm
- Destination: 14A Mooresville NC
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 20, 3,002 ft by 40 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 210° at 9 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 3,500 ft
- Temperature: 82°F (28°C), dew point 75°F (24°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 4:54 pm from BUY, 13 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
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 docket at the NTSB holds the report as a PDF and the investigation's photographs and documents. This site 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 MIA99LA191.