ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 232931
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| Date: | Thursday 13 February 2020 |
| Time: | 11:25 |
| Type: |  Mooney M20J 201 |
| Owner/operator: | Or & Wil LLC |
| Registration: | N1149T |
| MSN: | 24-1215 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1981 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 4948 hours |
| Engine model: | Lycoming IO-360-A3B6 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | near Bartow, FL -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Approach |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Spruce Creek Airport, FL (7FL6) |
| Bartow Airport, FL (BOW/KBOW) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The accident pilot and his wife were assigned the No. 4 position in a formation flight. Flight data indicate that, throughout the flight, the accident airplane’s path, altitude, and speed closely followed those of the lead airplane. Approaching the landing airport, the flight-lead instructed the other pilots in the formation to “Go extended trail,” and all complied and were in-trail behind the flight lead to enter the traffic pattern. Subsequently, the accident airplane’s flightpath became irregular when, about 1,500 ft past the lead airplane’s turn, the accident airplane began a turn from downwind to base leg during which the bank angle varied from 5° to 20°. It leveled off on the base leg, then turned sharply right toward the runway, passing through the runway heading before turning left and steeply descending. Witnesses at the airport reported seeing the accident airplane “closing in” on airplane No. 3 before making a sharp right turn. The airplane impacted the ground about .6 nautical mile from the runway threshold.
Examination of the airplane revealed that the landing gear was in the UP position and the flaps were extended to 10°, which is not consistent with normal landing configuration upon the completion of the landing checklist, which should be performed on the downwind leg of the traffic pattern. No preimpact anomalies or malfunctions were identified during the examination that would have prevented normal operation.
Airplane manufacturer lift data indicated that for a no-flaps configuration, lift dropped off just before 15° angle of attack. The airplane’s calculated angle of attack increased to more than 14° immediately before the airplane descended rapidly to the ground. Although the airplane’s flap setting was likely 10°, the final seconds of the airplane’s flightpath were consistent with an aerodynamic stall and an entry phase of a spin at an altitude too low to recover.
Review of six detailed flight notebooks maintained by the pilot’s wife showed a multi-year history of in-flight notations of the times for every radio call, configuration change, entry in the traffic pattern, and turns within the traffic pattern. Given the failure of the pilot’s wife to note the time of entry into the downwind leg of the traffic pattern and the irregularity of the flightpath that commenced on the downwind leg of the traffic pattern, it is likely that there was a distraction in the cockpit around this time; however, the reason for the distraction could not be determined. The distraction likely led to his failure to lower his landing gear and flight control inputs that allowed the airplane to exceed its critical angle of attack, leading to an aerodynamic stall at low altitude. Review of the pilot’s medical history and medications revealed that the upset was unlikely to have been an effect of any of his medical conditions or his use of fluoxetine.
Probable Cause: The pilot’s exceedance of the airplane's critical angle of attack and subsequent aerodynamic stall and spin at low altitude due to a possible distraction in the cockpit for which the reason was undetermined.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
https://www.fox13news.com/news/2-dead-after-plane-crashes-into-neighborhood-near-bartow-airport
https://www.abcactionnews.com/news/region-polk/2-killed-in-bartow-plane-crash-sheriffs-office-on-scene
https://www.theledger.com/news/20200213/report-2-dead-in-bartow-plane-crash
https://www.dailyridge.com/en/2020/02/13/breaking-news-plane-crashes-in-residential-neighborhood/
https://patch.com/florida/lakeland/bartow-plane-crash-leaves-2-dead-report
NTSB
https://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/NNum_Results.aspx?NNumbertxt=N1149T
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/N1149T
https://www.flickr.com/photos/egbj/38654864472/in/photostream/(photo)
Location
Images:
Photos: NTSB
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 13-Feb-2020 18:14 | harro | Added |
| 13-Feb-2020 18:23 | harro | Updated [Time, Total fatalities, Location, Embed code, Narrative] |
| 13-Feb-2020 18:34 | harro | Updated [Source, Embed code, Narrative] |
| 13-Feb-2020 19:40 | RobertMB | Updated [Aircraft type, Registration, Operator, Location, Nature, Source, Narrative] |
| 13-Feb-2020 20:28 | magnetoz | Updated [Registration, Source] |
| 13-Feb-2020 20:29 | harro | Updated [Cn, Destination airport] |
| 13-Feb-2020 21:25 | RobertMB | Updated [Registration, Cn, Destination airport, Source] |
| 13-Feb-2020 21:55 | Iceman 29 | Updated [Embed code] |
| 13-Feb-2020 21:56 | Iceman 29 | Updated [Embed code] |
| 13-Feb-2020 22:12 | Iceman 29 | Updated [Registration, Source, Embed code, Narrative] |
| 13-Feb-2020 22:15 | Iceman 29 | Updated [Time, Cn, Operator] |
| 13-Feb-2020 22:19 | RobertMB | Updated [Registration, Phase, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 13-Feb-2020 22:24 | RobertMB | Updated [Source, Narrative] |
| 14-Feb-2020 16:30 | RobertMB | Updated [Time, Source] |
| 20-Feb-2020 10:15 | Captain Adam | Updated [Narrative] |
| 16-Jun-2021 07:09 | aaronwk | Updated [Time, Departure airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 18-Mar-2022 12:22 | Captain Adam | Updated [Location, Departure airport, Source, Embed code, Narrative, Category, Accident report, Photo] |
| 18-Mar-2022 12:23 | Captain Adam | Updated [Photo] |
| 18-Mar-2022 12:24 | Captain Adam | Updated [Photo] |
| 18-Mar-2022 12:24 | Captain Adam | Updated [Photo] |
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