Improper-Length Bolts May Have Also Played A Role

In an updated factual report issued by the National Transportation Safety Board on the May 23 takeoff crash of a plane piloted by South Carolina Lieutenant Governor Andre Bauer, the board states the runway was too short for the conditions.

As Aero-News reported, Bauer -- along with passenger John Leonhardt -- attempted to take off from a small runway at a private airfield near Blacksburg, SC in his single engine Mooney M20E (file photo of type, below) when the aircraft struck trees and powerlines on departure. Both men were able to scramble out of the wreckage with minor injuries before it caught fire.

In the report -- which does not determine probable cause -- the NTSB states that even under the most optimum of conditions, the plane would have needed at least 200 feet more than the 1,400-foot length of the unpaved runway to clear the trees, given the high density altitude at the time of takeoff.

Both Bauer and Leonhardt have stated they believe the Mooney's engine wasn't making full power when the plane took off. The NTSB may have found evidence to support those claims... as induction tube attachment bolts installed in the engine were found to be the wrong size -- one inch, instead of one-and-a-quarter-inch in length. This might have affected the air-fuel mixture.

The NTSB states the engine had been overhauled in April to fix an oil leak in the induction system.

Leonhardt maintains he thinks the runway was long enough for the Mooney's takeoff, if the engine had been operating normally. "I had been in that runway before. It was no problem whatsoever," he told The State newspaper in Columbia, SC.

Bauer -- who is running for reelection on November 7 -- is still recovering after surgery for a broken foot. Leonhardt suffered minor leg injuries.

FMI: Read The Updated NTSB Factual Report