Mooney Aircraft Corp. M20K N200DP accident near Georgetown, Delaware

Probable cause

The pilot’s improper preflight planning and in-flight fuel management, which resulted in fuel starvation and a total loss of engine power. Also causal to the accident was the pilot’s failure to see and avoid the wires on the airport boundary.

NTSB analysis

The pilot departed on the 40-mile flight with an unknown quantity of fuel onboard the airplane, but he estimated that it had about 10 gallons more than he thought was needed for the flight. While maneuvering to land, he increased the engine power twice, but the engine did not respond. He anticipated that the airplane could land on the airport property; however, the airplane struck wires and terrain short of the runway. Seven gallons of fuel were recovered from the 78.6-gallon fuel system, of which 3 gallons were unusable. The amount of fuel recovered from each tank could not be determined, and which tank the pilot had selected at the time of the loss of engine power could also not be determined. However, after the accident, the pilot reported that data from the airplane's engine monitor revealed that the fuel flow stopped 60 seconds before the propeller stopped. He added that he probably should have purchased fuel before his departure and that, if he had it to do over, he would. After replacing the damaged propeller with a slave propeller and adding 5 gallons of fuel in each wing tank, an engine test run was conducted; the engine started immediately, accelerated smoothly, and ran continuously without interruption throughout the test.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for ERA14LA242 for the full record.