NONE · MOONEY M20C · 2021-04-03 · College Park, MD, USA
Event
NTSB number
ERA21LA170
Event ID
20210404102860
Type
Accident
Date
2021-04-03
Location
College Park, MD, USA
Coordinates
38.982155, -76.924116
Injuries
Highest injury
NONE
Fatal
0
Serious
0
Minor
0
Uninjured
1
Total aboard
1
Aircraft
Make
MOONEY
Model
M20C
Registration
N2953L
FAR Part
091
Engines
1
Damage
SUBS
Conditions
Light
DAYL
Weather
VMC
Probable cause
Improper maintenance of the airplane by its owners and their failure to have qualified maintenance personnel determine the root cause of water infiltration into the fuel system. Also causal was the pilot’s inadequate preflight inspection, which failed to remove all of the water contamination from the fuel system prior to the flight and resulted in the partial loss of engine power during the takeoff. Contributing was the pilot’s exceedance of the critical angle of attack, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and subsequent hard landing.