Mooney M20J Falls short of Runway in California

A Mooney M20J crashed short of runway 35R at Paradise Skypark Airport in Butte County, California on February 9. 1 pilot with minor injuries.

[gmcjetpilot]

As "Get Smart" Spy Maxwell Smart would say, "missed it by that much". Hope they are OK.

[joncox]

The engine was not running! The prop tips aren't twisted from rotation! Bent forward as plane maybe slid backwards? But no twist from rotational forces if the engine was producing power!

[kennyj]

I used to fly Aviation and Autoparts into Paradise Skypark 35 years ago with a Cessna 337 Skymaster.

[jonroyer]

That probably hurt, hope everyone was ok. Very sturdy aircraft.

[danielcarlson]

Mooney's are tricky, with the HIGH landing speed.

[emergencylowmaneuvering]

Why doing a sudden stop like that before getting to paradise? Why??

[weofnjieofing]

Looks as if it pancaked against that plateau for a very sudden stop. Could be some serious whiplash/spinal injury as a result.

Them Mooneys are fairly slippery aircraft so kudos to the pilot for holding their nerve and not yanking the stick back and stall/spinning it in.

[megadavis]

The propeller blades look like they're almost feathered, and it sure looks like they weren't turning very fast when they hit the earth - not much bending chord-wise. In most multi-engine airplanes, a loss of oil pressure to an engine will cause the propeller assembly to move toward high pitch - feather. But in most single-engine airplanes, a loss of oil pressure will act on the propellers in the opposite way - they will cause the propeller assembly to move toward a lower, target pitch angle. I'm not sure about this model of Mooney though. Does anyone out there know about this particular model and prop governor system? I've always made it a practice to approach these 'escarpmented' airports with a much steeper glide path, so in case of an engine failure I would be able to glide safely to the runway; no dragging it in on these mountain embankment runways.

[tonylibra]

Are you in Maui? Great reports. Short and to the point.

[kurtak]

Great video. Looks like a downdraft or something...judging from the way the propeller was bent forward the engine was producing power.

[stevehinote]

Just a heads up on runway designations... you're doing good with the N-numbers of the airplanes you report on, now you can add this: the R and L runway designations refer to left and right, so in this case 'he came in short of runway 35 Right.' It's not terribly significant, but part of aviation is learning the lingo. Thanks for all your work and the excellent coverage.

[SeanWhite]

Prop blades are bent forward. So it was making power when it hit.

[el-blake-o]

Enjoy your take on these accidents, keep it up!

[davidwhardinglll]

Not too far from me again ! Glad of no injuries.

[stealhty]

That's another way to get to Paradise

[gettinghosed]

Get it correct. The runway is not 35R. Pilots say 35 Right

[alantoon]

Close only matters with horseshoes and hand grenades. Glad it was not worse.

[michaelhoffmann]

And here I had learned that with a Mooney it's landing *long* that you have to worry about! The sleek little buggers just don't want to stop flying. 😉

[almirria]

Looks like he was a bit off in his glide scope to the runway. But it does look like the aircraft is salvageable with a bit of overhaul, dempoending on the damage to the airframe & landing gear.

[chrisc]

Some damage to the aircraft? Thanks for sharing.