Mooney M20M N41XL accident near Manville, New Jersey

Probable cause

The pilot’s delayed go-around decision following an encounter with a tailwind during landing, which resulted in an inability to climb and subsequent impact with trees.

NTSB analysis

The pilot reported that, prior to landing, he obtained weather information as specified on the instrument approach procedure chart, which was from an airport about 18 nm from the landing airport. The wind was reported as being from 350° at 7 knots, which favored runway 07. During landing, the airplane floated longer than anticipated and bounced upon touchdown. The pilot added power and elected to do a go-around maneuver; however, the airplane was unable to attain a sufficient rate of climb and impacted trees at the departure end of the runway, which resulted in substantial damage to the fuselage and right wing.

A witness stated that the weather obtained from the airport specified on the instrument approach plate did not match the conditions at the airport at the time of the accident, which included a 10-kt tailwind on runway 07. The nearest airport's weather observation system, about 7 miles from the accident airport, included wind at 310° at 11 kts gusting to 17 kts.

The pilot reported that there were no preimpact mechanical failures or malfunctions of the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for ERA22LA179 for the full record.