NTSB ERA20CA171 — 2020-05-03 · Athens, Georgia, United States

Current FAA registration · N231DW

Make / Model: MOONEY M20K
Year of manufacture: 1979 · 41 years old at event
Engine: CONT MOTOR TSIO-360 SER (225 hp)
Seats / Engines: 4 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date: 19790615
ADS-B equipped: Yes — Mode-S A20C97

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

N231DW Mooney M20K None

Probable cause & findings

The collapse of the left main landing gear for reasons that could not be determined based on the available information.

Factual narrative

According to the pilot, while on approach, he lowered the airplane's landing gear and confirmed that the landing gear was down and locked by observing the panel and floor indicators in the cockpit; however, during the subsequent landing roll, the left main landing gear collapsed. The airplane veered off the left side of the runway into a ditch. Examination of the airplane revealed that the left wingtip spar was buckled, and the torque tubing associated with the left main landing gear was bent and broken. Review of the logbook records did not reveal any recent maintenance on the landing gear system. Due to the damage of the landing gear assembly, a landing gear retraction test or rigging check could not be performed. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

C Aircraft-Aircraft systems-Landing gear system-Gear extension and retract sys-Malfunction - C
— Not determined-Not determined-(general)-(general)-Unknown/Not determined

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2020_ERA20CA171.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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Related research

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