Incident Overview
On January 5, 2011, at approximately 2145 eastern standard time, a Mooney M20E (registration N7828V) encountered jammed flight controls while on an instrument approach to Runway 17 at St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport (PIE), Clearwater, Florida. The certificated commercial pilot, who was not injured, subsequently landed the airplane without damage. Night visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and the flight was operating under an instrument flight rules flight plan from Baytown Airport (HPY), Baytown, Texas. The personal flight was conducted under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91.
Sequence of Events
According to the pilot, he was beyond the final approach fix on the ILS approach, had contacted the tower, and had the airport in sight. He began configuring the airplane for landing by adding flaps, enriching the mixture, turning on the boost pump, and attempting to manually extend the landing gear via the Johnson bar. The pilot unlocked the Johnson bar from the floor and moved it forward toward the instrument panel, but encountered resistance 3 to 4 inches from the panel and could not move it further. He retracted the bar, checked the area for obstructions, moved the carpet, and tried again without success. After a third attempt, he reported a landing gear problem to the tower.
The tower controller offered to inspect the landing gear or allow the pilot to return to the approach controller or stay in the pattern. The pilot declined the inspection, knowing that none of the three wheels were down and locked due to the nature of the manual extension gear. He continued to follow the localizer and glideslope for a low approach, then made right traffic in the pattern.
About 1/4 mile from the runway threshold, the pilot tried to force the gear down by applying more pressure to the Johnson bar. No emergency checklist was available. As he applied greater force, the Johnson bar clicked into the panel. Immediately, the airplane banked left. The pilot turned the yoke right but met complete resistance and could not move it right. The airplane continued rolling left and entered a descent. The pilot declared an emergency and was cleared to land on any runway. The bank angle reached close to 60 degrees. He retracted the landing gear, hoping to reverse the situation, but it did not help. He then raised the flaps, reduced power, and applied full right rudder, which reduced the left bank to about 15–20 degrees, stopping the turn and putting the airplane into a left slip.
After completing approximately 315 degrees of a 360-degree turn, the pilot looked left and saw he was lined up with the runway. He told the tower he was landing, though unsure if the gear was locked down. With a right crosswind and left slip, the airplane touched down well left of centerline but on the runway, and the pilot brought it to a stop.
Examination and Findings
Post-incident examination found no damage to the airplane. However, a photograph from the maintenance facility showed a small flashlight, about 5.5 inches long, jammed with its head against the aft side of the aft nose wheel well bulkhead, adjacent to the aileron control linkage. The tail of the flashlight was jammed against the landing gear bellcrank. The owner of the flashlight could not be determined.
Maintenance personnel also observed that when the Johnson bar was raised, a 3- to 4-inch hole was visible in the boot covering the area where the Johnson bar mechanism passed through the deck. A photograph showed the boot appeared old, worn, and torn at the seams.
The airplane's owner reported that it had been rebuilt between 2004 and 2006, used during flight training, and purchased in July 2009. The latest annual inspection was completed on April 12, 2010, with the airplane determined to be in airworthy condition.
Subsequent to the incident, Mooney Airplane Company issued Service Instruction M20-118 on February 28, 2011, re-emphasizing the importance of inspecting all interior boots and covers to prevent objects or debris from interfering with flight controls.