No fatalities

MOONEY M20 E accident at Olathe, KS, 2 May 2017

Olathe, KS, United States

On May 2, 2017, a MOONEY M20 E operated by SMOOTH BLUE INC. was involved in an aviation accident near Olathe, KS. No fatalities were reported. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: The separated fuel tank selector knob roll pin, which prevented the fuel selector from moving to the fuel tank position for the tank with usable fuel and resulted in fuel starvation and the subsequent total loss of engine power. This summary draws on records from NTSB; 12 related events involving the same aircraft type or operator are linked below.

SourcesNTSBPrimary reportUpdated 2026-08-03Data APIEditorial standards

Probable cause

The separated fuel tank selector knob roll pin, which prevented the fuel selector from moving to the fuel tank position for the tank with usable fuel and resulted in fuel starvation and the subsequent total loss of engine power.

— NTSB Determination

Contributing factors

Malfunction