19990216038189I

Incident · Minor damage

FAA incident report · Piper PA-34-200 · Beaufort, SC · February 16, 1999

Date: February 16, 1999 · 07:45 local
Place: Beaufort, SC
Airport: Beaufort County Airport
Phase of flight: Takeoff Ground Roll
Operating rules: Air taxi and commuter (Part 135)
Operator: MDTA
Damage: Minor damage
Aircraft: N200WS
Reported as: Piper PA34200
People aboard: 4
Fatal injuries: 0
Pilot’s flight hours: 8,500 total1,200 in this make and model100 in the last 90 days

N200WSRegistered now · Piper PA-34-200S/N 34-7450117 · Built 1974 Airframe modelPiper PA-34-200 Engine modelLycoming I0360 seriesReciprocating

From the FAA’s Accident/Incident Data System (AIDS), through its Aviation Safety Information Portal, as reported. The NTSB investigates accidents separately, and its record of an accident is the fuller one. The aircraft is matched to the registry by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

What happened

The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.

(-23) The pilot in command of a part 135 air ambulance flight took off from runway 06 at the lady's island airport (73J), Beaufort, SC. Immediately after lift off the open nose baggage door rotated into a vertical position and began vibrating in the airstream. The pilot in command landed on the remaining runway, then continued off the runway end into swampy terrain. The pilot in command shut down the engine prior to the nose gear collapsing and propeller impact with the ground. There were no injuries.

As the FAA filed it

(-23) THE PILOT IN COMMAND OF A PART 135 AIR AMBULANCE FLIGHT TOOK OFF FROM RUNWAY 06 AT THE LADY'S ISLAND AIRPORT (73J), BEAUFORT, SC. IMMEDIATELY AFTER LIFT OFF THE OPEN NOSE BAGGAGE DOOR ROTATED INTO A VERTICAL POSITION AND BEGAN VIBRATING IN THE AIRSTREAM. THE PILOT IN COMMAND LANDED ON THE REMAINING RUNWAY, THEN CONTINUED OFF THE RUNWAY END INTO SWAMPY TERRAIN. THE PILOT IN COMMAND SHUT DOWN THE ENGINE PRIOR TO THE NOSE GEAR COLLAPSING AND PROPELLER IMPACT WITH THE GROUND. THERE WERE NO INJURIES.