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| Date: | Tuesday 8 October 2024 |
| Time: | 12:35 |
| Type: |  Mooney M20E |
| Owner/operator: | North Coast Aviation |
| Registration: | N9151V |
| MSN: | 690031 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1969 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Covey Trails Airport (X09), Fulshear, TX -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Initial climb |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Houston-West Houston Airport, TX (IWS/KIWS) |
| Houston-West Houston Airport, TX (IWS/KIWS) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
On October 8, 2024, about 1235 central daylight time, a Mooney M20E airplane, N9151V, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident at the Covey Trails Airport (X09), Fulshear, Texas. The pilot and passenger were not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight.
The pilot had just taken off from a touch-and-go landing when he noticed an odor followed by a loud explosion and the airplane shaking violently. The pilot stated that a total loss of engine power occurred. He executed a 180° turn and made an emergency landing to the departure runway, which resulted in a runway overrun.
Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed the fiberglass upper engine cowl fairing and the left vent baffle contacted the propeller spinner and spinner bulkhead. The ensuing rubbing of the cowl and baffle with the spinner components likely created the odor smelled by the pilot. As the failure progressed, the components separated in flight; they were not located after the accident. The inflight separation of these components likely also created the reported loud explosion and violent shaking due to an unbalanced propeller and spinner. The cause of the component failure could not be determined, as the components were missing.
The pilot reported a total loss of engine power in flight; however, recorded data indicated the engine continued to operate throughout the forced landing approach. A postaccident engine test run found the engine to be fully functional. It is likely that given the low altitude at the time of the failure, the pilot did not have adequate time to troubleshoot the condition of the engine.
Probable Cause: The partial separation of a portion of the propeller spinner and its mounting bulkhead along with the upper cowl fairing while in a full-power climb.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
NTSB
https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=195277
https://registry.faa.gov/AircraftInquiry/Search/NNumberResult?nNumberTxt=N9151V
https://www.flightaware.com/live/flight/N9151V/history/20241008/1631Z/KIWS/X09
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 11 July 1999 | C-GGIK | private | 4 | St. Andrews, MB |  |
unk |
Location
Images:
Photo: NTSB
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 10-Oct-2024 09:22 | ASN | Added |
| 18-Oct-2024 11:17 | Captain Adam | Updated [Time, Location, Phase, Nature, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, Category, Accident report, ] |
| 11-Apr-2025 11:02 | Captain Adam | Updated [Source, Narrative, Photo, ] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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