Event CEN16LA129

Factual narrative

On March 18, 2016, about 1525 central daylight time, a Mooney M20C, N9262M, lost engine power while on approach to the Col. James Jabara Airport (AAO), Wichita, Kansas, and subsequently collided with terrain. The pilot and his passenger received minor injuries. The airplane was substantially damaged. The airplane was registered to and operated by the Sabris Corporation, Wichita, Kansas, under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident, and no flight plan had been filed. The flight originated from Dickson (M02), Tennessee, about 1130 was en route to AAO. According to the pilot's statement, he had preflighted the airplane in M02 and noted that both fuel tanks were "filled to the rim." (According to the Mooney Aircraft Corporation, fuel capacity for the model M20C is 52 gallons, 26 gallons per wing tank). The flight to AAO was uneventful. Due to inbound IFR (instrument flight rules) traffic, the pilot extended the downwind leg for landing when the engine suddenly lost power. The pilot said he used the ALARMS (airspeed, landing site, air restart, radios, mayday, secure plane) checklist. The airplane was too far from the runway, so the pilot attempted to land on a golf course. He did not recall the forced landing and woke up in an ambulance en route to the hospital. A Federal Aviation Administration inspector who examined the airplane reported finding "no discernible quantity of fuel in the left tank." The fuel selector was positioned on the left fuel tank, and the electric fuel pump was in the off position. When the airplane was placed in a level position, the inspector was not able to sump fuel from the left fuel tank, even with the electric fuel pump running, or from the fuel selector valve sump. Some fuel was noted in the right fuel tank. The inspector was able to sump fuel from the right fuel tank. The fuel level was about 2 to 3 inches in depth. There was no evidence of fuel spillage, and the fuel tanks did not appear to have been breached. There were no fuel stains on the ground or the smell of fuel around the airplane. No other anomalies or mechanical failures were noted. Airplane damage consisted of a buckled lower fuselage from the engine cowling aft to the rear bulkhead. The firewall was bent. The right wing leading edge bore crush damage, and the main landing gear was pushed up through the wing. The flap was also bent. The private pilot reported that he conducted a preflight inspection of the airplane and noted that both fuel tanks were full. The pilot then took off for the personal cross-country flight. During approach to landing at the destination airport, the pilot extended the downwind leg due to inbound instrument flight rules traffic. The engine then suddenly lost power, and the pilot conducted a forced landing. An examination of the wreckage revealed no preimpact mechanical anomalies. The fuel tank selector was positioned to the left fuel tank, and the electric fuel pump was in the "off" position. No fuel was found in the left tank. There was no smell of fuel, no evidence of fuel spillage, and the fuel tank did not appear to have been breached. Some fuel, about 2 to 3 inches deep, was found in the right fuel tank. If the pilot had switched the fuel selector from the left to the right fuel tank and turned on the electric fuel pump, the engine would not have been starved of fuel. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

Hierarchical cause / factor breakdown from the FAA bulk avdata database. Each finding tagged C (Cause) or F (Factor).

• C Aircraft-Fluids/misc hardware-Fluids-Fuel-Fluid management - C
• C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Use of equip/system-Pilot - C