NTSB ATL87LA247 — 1987-08-29 · PUT IN BAY, Ohio, United States

Current FAA registration · N9784M

Make / Model: MOONEY M20F
Year of manufacture: 1968 · 19 years old at event
Engine: LYCOMING I0360 SER (180 hp)
Seats / Engines: 4 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date: 19681002
ADS-B equipped: Yes — Mode-S ADA44D

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

N9784M Mooney M20F None

Factual narrative

THE PLT HEARD A LOUD 'SNAP' WHILE TAXIING TO THE RWY, AND THE LDG GEAR COLLAPSED IMMEDIATELY THEREAFTER. THE PLT OBSERVED THAT THE GEAR HANDLE WAS STILL IN THE DOWN-AND-LOCKED POSITION AND THAT THE GREEN 'GEAR DOWN' LIGHT REMAINED ILLUMINATED. FAA EXAM OF THE MANUALLY OPERATED LDG GEAR SYSTEM REVEALED THAT THE GEAR HANDLE/LEVER ASSY HAD CRACKED AND SEPARATED WHERE IT WAS WELDED TO A CROSS MEMBER. METALLURGICAL EXAM OF THE FRACTURE SURFACES REVEALED EVIDENCE OF BENDING OVERSTRESS SEPARATION. EXAM OF THE ACFT MAINTENANCE RECORDS REVEALED THAT THE LDG GEAR HAD BEEN RE-RIGGED ABOUT 11 FLT HRS BEFORE THE ACCIDENT OCCURRED. THE ACFT MAINTENANCE MANUAL NOTES THAT THE OVERCENTER CONFIGURATION OF THE RETRACTION LINKAGE HOLDS THE GEAR DOWN AND LOCKED, AND WARNS THAT IMPROPER GEAR RIGGING CAN RESULT IN A GEAR COLLAPSE DURING TAXIING OR LDG. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1987_ATL87LA247.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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