Eagle County Regional Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Eagle, Colorado 81637
Tuesady, December 10, 2002 11:15 MST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

After the airplane lifted off the runway and climbed 50 feet (about 10 seconds into the flight), the engine lost power. The pilot attempted to land on the 2,000 feet of runway remaining. The pilot said there was insufficient runway to bring the airplane to a safe stop, so he elected to abort the landing. The airplane did not become airborne, but traveled approximately 300 feet before exiting the runway onto soft, muddy ground. The nose wheel collapsed and was torn off, wrinkling the fuselage behind the firewall. There was a 4-inch hole in the fuselage, and the horizontal stabilizer was also damaged. Airport emergency personnel who responded reported finding the protective coverings for the engine air scoops still in place.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

the pilot's failure to remove protective coverings from the engine air scoops during the preflight inspection, resulting in air starvation and a loss of engine power shortly after takeoff. A contributing factor was the lack of suitable terrain for a forced landing.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 12/10/2002
Event Day of the Week Tuesday
Time of Event 1115
Event Time Zone Mountain Standard Time
Event City Eagle
Event State COLORADO
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 81637
Event Date Year 2002
Event Date Month 12
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 393833N
Event Location Longitude 1065504W
Event Location Airport Eagle County Regional
Event Location Nearest Airport ID EGE
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 6535
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1115 Mountain Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID EGE
Elevation of weather observation facility 6535
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation MST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
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) -8
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -12
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) --
Variable Wind Indicator --
Wind Speed (knots) --
Wind Velocity Indicator Calm
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.18
Density Altitude (feet) 5103
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 2
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 13330
NTSB Notification Source FAA Comm Center
NTSB Notification Date Dec 10 2002 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1200
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record May 13 2003 12:26PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Denver, CO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N252DR
NTSB Number DEN03LA024
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed VFR
Flight plan Was Activated? Yes
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Mooney
Aircraft Model M20K
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 25-1038
Certified Max Gross Weight 3200
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 Aug 1 2002 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 54
Airframe Hours 3534
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Flying M-U-2, Inc.
Aircraft Owner Street Address 615 Baker La.
Aircraft Owner City Waco
Aircraft Owner State TX
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 76708
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 EGE
Departure City Eagle
Departure State CO
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1115
Departure Time Zone MST
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code ACT
Destination City Waco
Destination State TX
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Takeoff - aborted
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Apr 1 2003 2:45PM
User who most recently changed record MCBM
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 25
Runway Length 8000
Runway Width 150
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --