Mooney M20K N1005U accident near Fairmont, West Virginia

Probable cause

The pilot’s failure to attain the proper touchdown point, and his delay in aborting the landing.

NTSB analysis

The pilot stated that while en route to his destination he diverted to an alternate airport due to low cloud cover. After reviewing the runway length at the diversion airport, he overflew it then entered the airport traffic pattern for landing. He turned onto the base and final legs of the airport traffic pattern, and while on final approach, he recognized the airplane was fast but continued the approach. He reported that the airplane touched down too far down the runway, with a witness indicating that the airplane touched down past the last crossing taxiway, which resulted in about 836 ft of runway remaining. After touchdown the pilot stated that he applied the airplane’s brakes momentarily, but in that instant, he knew he was fast and added power to abort the landing. The engine responded and he fully retracted the flaps. During the subsequent climb out, the airplane impacted trees and then the ground. The airplane’s fuselage and left wing were substantially damaged. The pilot stated that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures of the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for ERA24LA366 for the full record.