What happened
On 20 August 2025, a Mooney M20J, with a pilot and 2 passengers on board, was landing at Mount Isa Airport, Queensland following a private flight. The pilot reported that, at the time, the wind was gusty with some crosswind on the airport’s single runway. After discontinuing the first landing attempt, the pilot circled and conducted a second approach, targeting a landing speed of 65–70 kt. Subsequently, the aircraft landed and began to decelerate. Consistent with their normal procedure, the pilot raised the flap and turned off the fuel pump. The pilot reported that they then mistakenly moved the landing gear lever from the down to the up position. As a result, the landing gear started to retract while the aircraft was on the runway.
Recognising the situation, the pilot applied full power and raised the nose, resulting in the aircraft becoming airborne again. The aircraft banked left and climbed briefly before the pilot lowered the nose. The aircraft subsequently impacted the ground to the left of the runway and slid for several metres before coming to a stop. The pilot and passengers exited the aircraft without injuries, and the aircraft was substantially damaged.
Figure 1: Aircraft post-accident
Source: Supplied, edited by the ATSB
The aircraft’s maintenance manual stated that the aircraft was equipped with an airspeed‑activated landing gear safety system that was designed to prevent the gear from retracting when the aircraft was below 60 kt (±5 kt) indicated airspeed and airspeed was increasing. The manual further advised that when landing, the system may not engage until below 50 kt, and could allow the landing gear to retract if the gear switch was placed in the up position during the landing roll.
Safety message
This accident serves as a reminder to pilots that incidents and accidents can occur at any time during the operation of an aircraft, including the landing roll. Maintaining awareness, in conjunction with the consistent use of procedures, checklists and flows, minimises the opportunity for inadvertent or mistaken manipulation of an aircraft’s controls or systems.
About this report
Decisions regarding whether to conduct an investigation, and the scope of an investigation, are based on many factors, including the level of safety benefit likely to be obtained from an investigation. For this occurrence, no investigation has been conducted and the ATSB did not verify the accuracy of the information. A brief description has been written using information supplied in the notification and any follow-up information in order to produce a short summary report, and allow for greater industry awareness of potential safety issues and possible safety actions.