University Of Oklahoma Westhei Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Norman, Oklahoma 73069
Saturday, March 16, 2002 9:16 CST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

During takeoff initial climb, approximately 800-900 feet agl, the engine lost power. With no options to land straight ahead, the pilot elected to make a right 180-degree turn back to the runway. The airplane's right wing struck the ground followed by the fuselage. The airplane slid upright into two parked airplanes that were tied down on the ramp. Examination of the aircraft revealed an improper clamp installed on the mixture cable that would not allow the mixture cable to extend to the full rich position.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

Maintenance personnel's improper clamp installation on the mixture control cable, which resulted in a loss of engine power.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 3/16/2002
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 916
Event Time Zone Central Standard Time
Event City Norman
Event State OKLAHOMA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 73069
Event Date Year 2002
Event Date Month 3
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 231444N
Event Location Longitude 0972820W
Event Location Airport UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA WESTHEI
Event Location Nearest Airport ID OUN
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 1182
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 945 Central Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID OUN
Elevation of weather observation facility 1142
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation CST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 8500
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 5
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -3
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 60
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 13
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.17
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Minor
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor 1
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 13974
NTSB Notification Source FAA Operations Center
NTSB Notification Date Mar 16 2002 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1410
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Sep 30 2003 9:55AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N8390E
NTSB Number FTW02LA096
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Mooney
Aircraft Model M20A
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 1568
Certified Max Gross Weight 2450
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 4
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Mar 1 2002 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 6.28
Airframe Hours 3015.6
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Jeffrey A. Evans
Aircraft Owner Street Address 7 Parkhurst Drive
Aircraft Owner City Nashua
Aircraft Owner State NH
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 03062
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name --
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City --
Operator State --
Operator Country --
Operator Zip code --
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code OUN
Departure City Norman
Departure State OK
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 916
Departure Time Zone CST
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code EWK
Destination City NEWTON
Destination State KS
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Takeoff - initial climb
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred Yes
Date of most recent change to record Jul 7 2003 6:03PM
User who most recently changed record CASH
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 3
Runway Length 4747
Runway Width 100
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --