- Date
- February 16, 2004, 14:40 local (19:40 UTC)
- Place
- Davis, WV
- Injuries
- 4 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N44LJPiper PA-34-200
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report January 24, 2005
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA
- FAA report
- 20040216002029A
- Case key
- 58749
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to maintain directional control after encountering a snow patch on the runway. A factor related to the accident was the snowdrift.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
Upon arriving in the vicinity of the airport, the pilot circled the runway twice to determine the wind direction and runway conditions. The runway appeared to look clear, with a few ice patches on the surface, and snow mounds off to the sides. After touching down on the runway, the left landing gear assembly encountered a "low flat" snow patch, and the airplane began to pull to the left. The airplane continued off the side of the runway, and came to rest upright in a snow-covered field.
Factual narrative
On February 16, 2004, at 1440 eastern standard time, a Piper PA-34-200, N44LJ, was substantially damaged while landing at the Windwood Resort Airport, Davis, West Virginia. The certificate private pilot and three passengers were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed for the personal flight that originated from the Winchester Regional Airport (OKV), Winchester, Virginia. The flight was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.
According to the pilot, upon arriving in the vicinity of the airport, he circled the runway twice to determine the wind direction and runway conditions. The runway appeared to look clear, with a few ice patches on the surface, and snow mounds off to the sides. After touching down on runway 06, a 3,000-foot long, 40-foot wide asphalt runway, the left landing gear assembly encountered a "low flat" snow patch, and the airplane began to pull to the left. The pilot elected not to abort the landing, and let the airplane continue off the side of the runway, where it came to rest upright in a snow-covered field.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N44LJ
- Reported as
- Piper PA-34-200
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 34-7250298
- Airframe hours
- 4,953
- Engines
- Lycoming IO-360, 200 horsepower, reciprocatingLycoming IO-360, 200 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Book-A-Plane.com
- Registered owner
- Book-A-Plane.Com
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · December 7, 2003
- Departed
- OKV · Winchester, VA
- Destination
- WV62 · Davis, WV
- Airport
- WV62 · Winwood Resort Airport, runway 06, 3,000 × 40 ft, asphalt
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 43
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Last flight review
- November 13, 2002
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 470 total · 175 in this make and model · 25 in the last 90 days · 8 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 36 °F, dew point 14 °F
- Observed at
- W99
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.