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Atlas / NTSB / LAX90LA165

NTSB CAROL · Event

Event LAX90LA165

1990-05-05 TORRANCE, California, United States Airport · TOA None 1 aircraft Status: Completed

Registry · N300MD

FAA Aircraft Registry record.

Make / Model

MOONEY M20E

Engine

LYCOMING I0360 SER (180 hp)

Seats / Engines

4 seats · 1 engine

Last airworthiness date

19640616

ADS-B equipped

Yes — Mode-S A32069

Registrant of record

HEYWOOD BRUCE N

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

WATER CONTAMINATION INTRODUCED INTO THE AIRPLANE FUEL SYSTEM WHEN THE AIRPLANE WAS WASHED. CONTRIBUTING TO THE ACCIDENT WAS AN 18 KNOT TAILWIND DURING LANDING ROLL WHICH RESULTED IN THE AIRPLANE OVERRUNNING THE RUNWAY.

Factual narrative

THE PLT INDICATED THE ENG LOST POWER AND CONTINUED TO IDLE AT 400 FT AGL WHILE IN A RIGHT TURN. THE PLT LANDED THE AIRPLANE ON THE TAKEOFF RWY IN THE REVERSE DIRECTION. THE AIRPLANE OVERRAN THE RWY, AND STRUCK AN IRRIGATION PIPE. THE AIRPLANE NOSED OVER. AN 18 KNOT TAILWIND WAS REPORTED AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT. THE AIRPLANE HAD A LOSS OF ENG POWER IN AUGUST OF 1989. THERE WERE NO INJURIES OR DAMAGE TO THE AIRPLANE AS A RESULT OF THE INCIDENT. THE ENG WAS EXAMINED AS A RESULT OF THE INCIDENT. THERE WAS NO EVIDENCE OF A MECHANICAL FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION FOUND. THE AIRPLANE HAD BEEN FLOWN ONCE FOR ABOUT AN HOUR SINCE AGU 1989. AFTER THE ACCIDENT THE ENG WAS AGAIN EXAMINED. THERE WAS NO EVIDENCE OF MECHANICAL FAILURE. THE ENG STARTED AND RAN FOR 30 MIN AFTER THE ACCIDENT. THE PLT INDICATED THAT THE AIRPLANE HAD BEEN WASHED BEFORE THE AUGUST 1989 INCIDENT. IT WAS REPORTED THAT THE AIRPLANE WAS AGAIN WASHED BEFORE THE ACCIDENT. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1990_LAX90LA165.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

Related research

What the literature says.

Academic papers and agency reports matching this event's aircraft type. Sourced from NASA NTRS, NTSB Safety Studies, FAA CAMI, AOPA Air Safety Institute, Embry-Riddle Scholarly Commons, arXiv, and the Semantic Scholar academic graph.

Browse the full corpus — academia portal ↗