Preston Glenn Field Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Lynchburg, Virginia 24502
Saturday, April 27, 1996 14:30 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot reported that when he completed his preflight inspection of the airplane, he noticed that the right main landing gear strut was flat. A mechanic inflated the strut, and the pilot took off. During the landing roll on runway 21 at the destination airport, when the nosewheel touched the runway, the aircraft veered to the left. The pilot applied full right rudder and brake, but the aircraft exited the runway collapsing the main landing gear. The pilot reported that there was no mechanical malfunction and that the ground loop forces caused the main landing gear to collapse from side forces. The pilot stated that the winds were out of 240 degrees at 18 knots. Postaccident examination revealed no evidence of preimpact anomaly.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain directional control during the landing roll, which resulted in an inadvertent ground loop/swerve and landing gear collapse. A related factor was the strong crosswind.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 4/27/1996
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1430
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City LYNCHBURG
Event State VIRGINIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 24502
Event Date Year 1996
Event Date Month 4
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport PRESTON GLENN FIELD
Event Location Nearest Airport ID LYH
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 938
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Pilot
Time of the weather observation 0
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID
Elevation of weather observation facility 0
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 6000
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Unknown
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 15
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 27
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 240
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 18
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) --
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 3
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 1951
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Apr 29 1996 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 800
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 8 2000 9:56AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N1580W
NTSB Number IAD96LA068
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed IFR
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Beech
Aircraft Model B55
Aircraft Series Identifier B55
Aircraft Serial Number TC-1443
Certified Max Gross Weight 5100
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 4
Number of Engines 2
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Apr 13 1996 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 17
Airframe Hours 8500
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name TRIPLE S DYNAMICS INC
Aircraft Owner Street Address 1031 S HASKELL
Aircraft Owner City DALLAS
Aircraft Owner State TX
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 75223
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address
Operator City
Operator State
Operator Country
Operator Zip code
Operator Code
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation Unknown
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Business
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code ISP
Departure City ISLIP
Departure State NY
Departure Country
Departure Time 1200
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code LYH
Destination City
Destination State
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Landing
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 2 2001 10:34AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 21
Runway Length 5799
Runway Width 150
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --