Mooney M20E N213EJ accident near Marina, California

Probable cause

The pilot's exceedance of the airplane's critical angle of attack during takeoff, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall/spin.

NTSB analysis

About 7 months before the accident flight, the private pilot had resumed flying his single-engine airplane following an approximate 3-year hiatus. He flew seven flights and then successfully completed a flight review with an instructor. On the morning of the accident, the pilot had his airplane refueled and departed on a visual flight rules flight to a nearby airport.

Surveillance video and witness reports indicated that the pilot took off from the nearby airport and the airplane climbed out in a nose-high attitude and on an unusually steep flight path before entering an aerodynamic stall and spin. The airplane was destroyed, and the pilot was fatally injured.

It could not be determined how many previous landings and takeoffs the pilot conducted on that flight, or whether the accident takeoff followed a touch-and-go or a full-stop landing.

Examination of the wreckage did not reveal any evidence of mechanical deficiencies or failures that would have prevented continued normal engine and airplane operation.

Because the pilot successfully departed from his home airport and flew to the accident airport, it is unlikely that there was a static center of gravity (CG) problem with the airplane. No evidence of any large mass in the cabin (other than the pilot) that could significantly alter the CG in flight was observed during the wreckage examination. The airplane's pitch trim was found set in the takeoff range, and no mechanical flight control deficiencies were observed, making it unlikely that the airplane configuration or a control problem resulted in the steep climb.

It is possible that the pilot's seat inadvertently slid aft during the accident takeoff, and either caused the pilot to pull back on the control yoke and/or prevented him from applying appropriate control inputs to lower the nose to prevent the stall and spin, however, there was insufficient evidence to determine the pilot's seat position either before or at the time of impact.

Given that the airplane was within CG, and there were no anomalies with the trim or flight controls, it is likely that the pilot exceeded the airplane's critical angle of attack. The airplane's low altitude at the time of the stall and the rapid spin development likely prevented the pilot from being able to affect a recovery prior to ground impact.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for WPR18FA112 for the full record.