N262JM

On May 9, 1997, at 0810 central daylight time, a Mooney M20K, N262JM, registered to and operated by a private owner, as a Title 14 CFR Part 91 business flight, was substantially damaged following a loss of control during an aborted landing attempt at North Little Rock Municipal Airport, North Little Rock, Arkansas. The private pilot, the sole occupant of the airplane, sustained minor injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the cross country flight, and a flight plan was not filed. The flight originated from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, about one hour and 40 minutes before the accident.

The pilot reported in a telephone interview with the NTSB investigator-in-charge that he landed the airplane using full flaps about 200 feet beyond runway 35's numbers. Upon landing, the "plane reacted as if it had been hit by a gust of wind, causing the nose to go straight up and the left wing to drop quickly." He corrected for the airplane's attitude and "applied full throttle" in an effort to abort the landing. "At this time, I was approximately 15 feet off of the ground and I also pushed the lever to retract my landing gear." The airplane "continued to sink and it seemed incapable of gaining speed or altitude." The turbo charged airplane crossed the grassy area on the left side of the runway, touched down on the parking ramp, and struck an unoccupied parked Piper PA-32 airplane, N7010R. Both airplanes came to rest against an embankment.

The pilot reported in the Pilot/Operator Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1/2, that the winds at the time of the accident were from 330 degrees at 2 knots. At 0817, seven minutes after the accident, the reported winds at the Adams Field Airport, located about 5 nautical miles south of the North Little Rock Municipal Airport, were from 330 degrees at 7 knots.

Examination of the aircraft by a FAA inspector revealed no evidence of any pre-mishap discrepancies. The aircraft sustained damage to the firewall, engine mounts, and its propeller was separated from the engine. The parked airplane sustained structural damage to both wings, and its propeller was separated from the engine.

According to Section IV, Normal Procedures of the aircraft's Pilot's Operating Handbook, the procedure for making a go around is to apply power to 36" MP and 2,700 RPM, mixture to full rich, flaps (After climb established) to takeoff position, trim (reduce control force by trimming) to nose down, accelerate to an airspeed of 77 KIAS, landing gear retract, flaps retract, cowl flap open, and then accelerate to 94 KIAS.

The private pilot had accumulated a total of 25 hours in the 1990 model turbo charged airplane.