Event CEN22LA132

Factual narrative

On February 20, 2022, about 1530 central daylight time, a Mooney M20C airplane, N6750U, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Crete, Nebraska. The pilot and passenger were not injured. The airplane was operated under the provision of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. The pilot stated that the airplane’s preflight was normal and, as he started the takeoff roll, he perceived that the airplane made a “hard left turn” before the airplane rotated for takeoff. The pilot added backpressure to the control yoke and the airplane became airborne in a “nose high attitude.” He stated that the airplane lifted off for a short duration, stalled, and settled back to the runway, dragging the tail. The airplane became airborne again and veered to the left before stalling once again. The airplane then touched down off the runway in a bean field. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the wings. A video provided by the airport recorded the takeoff and showed that, during the takeoff roll, the airplane’s nose rotated for takeoff and the airplane did not appear the gain any altitude as it continued down the runway. Still in a nose-high attitude, the airplane lifted off and then began to drift to the left before it settled back to the ground into the bean field. During the accident sequence, the airport’s windsock displayed a slight left crosswind. The pilot reported that there may have been some landing gear wear points or a problem with the nose gear alignment that contributed to the accident; however, postaccident examination of the airplane did not reveal any anomalies that would have precluded normal operations. During the takeoff roll, the pilot felt the airplane veer left, so he applied backpressure to the control yoke. The pilot reported that the airplane became airborne, settled back to the runway, became airborne again, then veered to the left and settled into a bean field off the side of the runway. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the wings. An airport surveillance video of the accident showed that, during the takeoff roll, the airplane’s nose rotated for takeoff and the airplane did not appear to gain any altitude as it continued down the runway. Still in a nose-high attitude, the airplane lifted off and then began to drift to the left before it settled back to the ground into the bean field. A visual examination of the airplane did not reveal any preimpact anomalies that would have precluded normal operations. The circumstances of the accident are consistent with the pilot commanding the airplane to rotate before rotation speed, resulting in a loss of control. 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).

• — Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-(general)-Not attained/maintained
• — Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot