What happened
On February 17, 2012, at 17:32 EST, a Mooney M20TN, registration N118RZ, was landing at Fayetteville Regional Airport (FAY) in North Carolina when it collided with a light pole. The flight, operated as a Part 91 personal flight, had originated from Raleigh Durham International Airport.
Upon arrival, the pilot was instructed to enter a left downwind leg for runway 4, though these instructions were later changed to a right downwind leg. A Gulfstream jet was cleared to land ahead of the Mooney. After touching down on the main landing gear, the pilot encountered wake turbulence from the preceding jet. This caused the nose of the aircraft to pitch up, lifting the airplane off the runway. The pilot applied power, but the aircraft drifted to the left. In an attempt to avoid a Gulfstream aircraft parked on the ramp, the pilot rolled the airplane to the right, causing the wing to scrape the ground. The nose of the aircraft then struck a light pole, causing the engine assembly and nose landing gear to separate from the airframe. The aircraft spun and came to a stop in a grass area.
Witnesses at the scene reported seeing the aircraft stall multiple times at low altitudes above the runway. One witness observed the engine assembly caught fire due to a ruptured fuel line following the impact, though the fire was extinguished by a bystander. The accident resulted in one serious injury to the pilot and one minor injury to a passenger; there were no fatalities.
The investigation
An FAA inspector examined the crash site and identified ground scars on the tarmac from the left wing. The investigation confirmed the aircraft traveled approximately 200 yards from the runway before striking the light pole. Propeller strike marks were found on the concrete base of the pole.
Radio communications showed that the approach controller had warned the pilot of wake turbulence at 2,500 feet, and the tower controller provided a second warning at 17:29:09. While the radar separation between the two aircraft was 5.72 miles—exceeding the required 4-mile separation—the pilot's response to the second warning was unintelligible.
Review of the aircraft logbooks showed the engine and airframe had 390 total hours, with the last annual inspection completed on December 24, 2011.