St. Petersburg-Clearwater Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

St. Petersburg, Florida 33762
Wednesday, January 5, 2011 21:45 EST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

As the pilot was making a night, overwater instrument approach to a coastal airport in the borrowed airplane, he attempted to extend the landing gear normally via the Johnson bar, which he could only partially raise. He checked to see if anything was blocking it then attempted to raise it again without success. He tried a third time before calling the tower air traffic controller and reporting that he had a landing gear problem. About 1/4 mile from the runway, the pilot applied more pressure to the Johnson bar, and it clicked into place; however, the airplane immediately banked to the left. The pilot was unable to turn the yoke to the right, and the airplane continued to roll while descending, at one point approaching a 60-degree bank. The pilot declared an emergency with the tower controller and was cleared to land on any runway. He then retracted the landing gear, but the roll continued. The pilot then retracted the flaps, reduced power, and added full right rudder. He was able to stop the turn with the airplane in a left slip with about 15 to 20 degrees of left bank. After completing about 315 degrees of a 360-degree turn, the pilot saw that he was about to be lined up with the runway again. He lowered the landing gear, and with a right crosswind and left slip, the airplane touched down well left of runway centerline and came to a stop. A subsequent examination of the airplane revealed no damage. However, below the cockpit, a small flashlight of unknown ownership was found jammed between the aft side of the aft nosewheel well bulkhead and the landing gear bellcrank, adjacent to the aileron control linkage and below where the Johnson bar went through the deck. When the Johnson bar was raised, a 3- to 4-inch hole could be seen in the old, worn boot above where the flashlight was found, which likely allowed the flashlight to fall through. The airplane had been rebuilt between 2004 and 2006, and the latest annual inspection was completed in April 2010 with the airplane determined to be in an airworthy condition. Per Federal Aviation Administration Order 8130.2F, the term “airworthy” is not defined in United States Code; however, for an aircraft to be so, it must conform to its type certificate, and it must be in a condition for safe operation. The Order further defines the condition as being relative to wear and deterioration and states, as examples, skin corrosion, window delamination/crazing, fluid leaks, and tire wear, but nothing relating to interior items. Researched government, industry and advocacy group publications did not emphasize that the condition of interior items, such as boots and covers, could affect aircraft airworthiness.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

An inadequately maintained interior cockpit boot, which allowed a flashlight to fall through and subsequently jam the airplane's flight controls. Contributing to the incident was a lack of emphasis by government, industry, and advocacy groups that the condition of interior items, such as boots and covers, could affect aircraft airworthiness.

Event Information

Type of Event Incident
Event Date 1/5/2011
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 2145
Event Time Zone Eastern Standard Time
Event City St. Petersburg
Event State FLORIDA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 33762
Event Date Year 2011
Event Date Month 1
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 275436N
Event Location Longitude 0824115W
Event Location Airport St. Petersburg-Clearwater
Event Location Nearest Airport ID PIE
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 1
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 11
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 2153 Eastern Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID PIE
Elevation of weather observation facility 11
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation EST
Lighting Conditions Night
Lowest Ceiling Height 7500
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 600
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Few
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 8
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 18
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 17
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 210
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 10
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.9
Density Altitude (feet) --
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 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 29377
NTSB Notification Source FAA Southern ROC
NTSB Notification Date --
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 31 2012 2:48PM
User who most recently changed record johb
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N7828V
NTSB Number ERA11IA110
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed IFR
Flight plan Was Activated? Yes
Damage None
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name MOONEY
Aircraft Model M20E
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 450
Certified Max Gross Weight --
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats 1
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats 3
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 Apr 12 2010 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 185
Airframe Hours 3980
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type Unknown
Aircraft Owner Name YOUNG MURRAY F II
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City GOLDEN
Aircraft Owner State CO
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 80401-1441
Operator is an individual? Yes
Operator Name RYAN RICHTER
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address --
Operator City BROOMFIELD
Operator State CO
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 80020
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
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 No
Departure Airport Code HPY
Departure City Baytown
Departure State TX
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1615
Departure Time Zone CST
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code PIE
Destination City St. Petersburg
Destination State FL
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight --
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 31 2012 12:21PM
User who most recently changed record johb
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 17
Runway Length 9730
Runway Width 150
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --