Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Tallahassee Regional Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Tallahassee, Florida 32310
Sunday, August 4, 2013 12:10 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
On August 4, 2013, about 1210 eastern daylight time, a Mooney M20R, N1034S, was substantially damaged during a precautionary landing at Tallahassee Regional Airport (TLH), Tallahassee, Florida. The private pilot and passenger were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and the airplane was operating on an instrument flight rules (IFR) flight plan. The flight, which had originated from TLH about 1200, was destined for Bartow Municipal Airport (BOW), Bartow, Florida. The personal flight was conducted under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91.
After receiving his IFR clearance, the pilot departed from runway 36 at TLH. He contacted the departure air traffic controller shortly thereafter and was cleared to climb to 5,000 feet. As the airplane climbed through 2,500 feet it entered the clouds, and near 5,000 feet, the pilot reported hearing an "indescribable noise" in his headset. Immediately thereafter, the primary flight display and the multi-function display lost power. The pilot assumed that the total loss of electrical power was due to a short circuit, given the abrupt nature with which the power loss occurred.
The pilot subsequently descended the airplane below the clouds, and once in visual meteorological conditions, used a portable electronic device to navigate back to TLH. During the return flight, the pilot was concerned about a possible electrical fire and smoke in the cockpit, and wanted to land the airplane as soon as possible. As such, he did not perform the emergency procedure for a manual extension of the airplane's electrically actuated landing gear. Upon reaching the airport, the pilot observed the green light gun signal from the air traffic control tower and landed the airplane on runway 36 with the landing gear retracted. The fuselage structure was substantially damaged during the landing.
A Federal Aviation Administration inspector examined the airplane following the accident. The inspector powered up the airplane's electrical system normally utilizing the number 1 battery, and the primary flight display operated normally. The inspector noted that the number 2 battery was inoperative. The inspector also noted that the landing gear actuator circuit breaker was engaged (not tripped or pulled). The airplane's entire electrical system was subsequently examined in detail by a maintenance facility. No discrepancies were found with the system, with the exception of an internal electrical short of the number 2 battery.
According to the electrical system description provided in the airplane's pilot operating handbook:
Two 24-volt 10-ampere-hour storage batteries (in the tailcone) and one 100 ampere self-rectifying alternator (produces 99 amps) suppl[y] electrical power for equipment operation. The No. 1 battery, left side of the tailcone, is normally used as the primary to sustain the electrical system and to start the aircraft. The No. 2 battery, right side of the tailcone, is normally considered as a backup and is kept in a fully charged condition by trickle charge, through a diode system.
Should the No. 1 battery be depleted to the point of being unable to supply adequate power for system needs, it may be de-selected from the system and the No. 2 battery selected on line by pushing the rocker switch marked BAT-1/BAT-2, on the circuit breaker panel, from the BAT-1 to BAT-2 position. The MASTER switch still controls battery power to the buss from either position. With the BAT-1/BAT-2 switch in the No. 2 position the No. 1 battery will be recharged (trickle charged) through the diode system. Alternate between #1 and #2 batteries, as desired, to keep both active.
The emergency procedure for a suspected fire in-flight stated:
Master Switch OFF
Alternator Field Switch OFF
Cabin Ventilation OPEN
Heating Controls CLOSED
LAND AS SOON AS POSSIBLE
If electrical power is essential for flight, attempt to identify and isolate the faulty circuit as follows:
Master Switch ON
Alternator Field Switch ON
Select ESSENTIAL switches ON one at a time; permit a short time to elapse before activating an additional circuit.
The emergency procedure for a failure of the landing gear to extend electrically stated:
Airspeed 140 KIAS or less
Landing Gear Actuator Circuit Breaker PULL
Landing Gear Switch DOWN
Gear Manual Emergency Extension Mechanism LATCH FORWARD/LEVER BACK
T-Handle PULL (12 to 20 times) and RETURN until gear is down and locked
GEAR DOWN light ILLUMINATED;
STOP when resistance is felt
Visual Gear Down Indicator CHECK ALIGNMENT by viewing from directly above indicator
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
Not Yet Reported
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 8/4/2013 |
| Event Day of the Week | Sunday |
| Time of Event | 1210 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | Tallahassee |
| Event State | FLORIDA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 32310 |
| Event Date Year | 2013 |
| Event Date Month | 8 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 302349N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0842103W |
| Event Location Airport | Tallahassee Regional Airport |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | TLH |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | On Airport |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 0 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | 83 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1212 Eastern Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | -- |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | TLH |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 83 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 0 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | 3400 |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Few |
| 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) | 33 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 22 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 300 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 5 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.05 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | METAR KTLH 041612Z 30005KT 10SM FEW034 33/22 A3005 |
| 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) | -- |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA Tampa FSDO |
| NTSB Notification Date | -- |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Nov 25 2014 2:33PM |
| User who most recently changed record | kenj |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | -- |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N1034S |
| NTSB Number | ERA13LA363 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | IFR |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | Yes |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | MOONEY |
| Aircraft Model | M20R |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 29-0456 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 3368 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | -- |
| 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 | Oct 15 2012 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 16 |
| Airframe Hours | 373 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | Unknown |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | RED'S FLYING SERVICE INC |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | 1451 HOLLINGSWORTH OAKS DR |
| Aircraft Owner City | LAKELAND |
| Aircraft Owner State | FL |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 33803-5301 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | RED'S FLYING SERVICE INC |
| Operator Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | Yes |
| Operator Street Address | 1451 HOLLINGSWORTH OAKS DR |
| Operator City | LAKELAND |
| Operator State | FL |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 33803-5301 |
| 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 | TLH |
| Departure City | Tallahassee |
| Departure State | FL |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1200 |
| Departure Time Zone | EDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | BOW |
| Destination City | Bartow |
| Destination State | FL |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | -- |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Nov 25 2014 2:33PM |
| User who most recently changed record | kenj |
| Since inspection or accident | Last Inspection |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 36 |
| Runway Length | 7000 |
| Runway Width | 150 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |