Accident Overview
On July 30, 2011, at 1104 central daylight time, a Mooney M20K, registration N231EH, impacted a field shortly after takeoff from St. Landry Parish-Ahart Field (OPL) in Opalousas, Louisiana. The commercial pilot received minor injuries, and the airplane sustained substantial damage to both wings, the fuselage, and empennage. The flight was conducted under 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a ferry flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed. The local flight had just departed from OPL.
According to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector, the pilot was ferrying the airplane to Kenosha, Wisconsin, for inspection by a prospective purchaser. Shortly after takeoff, immediately after retracting the landing gear, the engine began running rough as if it were no longer firing on all six cylinders. The pilot executed a forced landing in a field, during which the airplane collided with trees.
Engine Examination
A postaccident examination of the engine, conducted under the direction of the National Transportation Safety Board, revealed that the left magneto fired on all terminals normally. However, the right magneto fired erratically at low RPM; when RPM was increased above 1400, the leads began to fire normally. Disassembly of the right magneto disclosed that the distributor gear was loose, and carbon tracking was observed on the interior. The rotor gear was also loose and wobbled when rotated. The gap was measured at 5 degrees off from normal.
Fuel Examination
No fuel was found inside the fuel pump, but a large amount of water was present inside the fuel manifold bowl. The fuel was brown in color, did not have the odor of 100LL aviation gasoline, and left a brown stain when it evaporated.