Mooney M20F N7786M accident near Rimrock, Arizona

Probable cause

The pilot's failure to maintain control of the airplane during the landing roll on a wet sloping runway and his decision to go around before the airplane was configured for takeoff.

NTSB analysis

The private pilot reported that he obtained weather briefings for the cross-country flight and that, during the flight, the weather was not improving as anticipated. The visibility was above visual flight rule minimums and the ceiling was greater than 2,000 ft above ground level, but he wanted to land and obtain an updated weather briefing.

The pilot decided to land at the nearest airport. He reported that he had not landed at this airport before and did not know the runway was sloped downhill. Further, the runway was wet. When he applied the brakes during the landing roll, the airplane started to skid. He decided to go around but did not get the flaps up before the airplane travelled off the end of the runway and impacted terrain, which resulted in substantial damage to the wings and fuselage.

The pilot reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. Thus, it is likely that the pilot failed to maintain control of the airplane during the landing roll and then made the decision to go around before the airplane was configured for takeoff.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for WPR14LA343 for the full record.