Wings Field Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Blue Bell, Pennsylvania 19422
Wednesday, February 26, 2003 11:05 EST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The airplane was departing a 3,700-foot-long, 75-foot-wide, asphalt runway. The pilot stated he applied power to both engines and approximately 300 feet down the runway, he experienced an "aggressive" yaw to the right. He attempted to correct with left rudder, and then retarded the throttles. The airplane departed the right side of the runway and impacted a snowbank. A witness reported he observed the airplane as it was departing the right side of the runway and noticed that the right propeller appeared to be revolving at a much slower rate then the left propeller. Examination of the airplane did not reveal any mechanical malfunctions.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain directional control after a loss of engine power for undetermined reasons.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 2/26/2003
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 1105
Event Time Zone Eastern Standard Time
Event City Blue Bell
Event State PENNSYLVANIA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 19422
Event Date Year 2003
Event Date Month 2
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 400815N
Event Location Longitude 0751554W
Event Location Airport WINGS FIELD
Event Location Nearest Airport ID LOM
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles 0
Degrees magnetic from airport 0
Airport Elevation 302
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1055 Eastern Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 55
Weather Observation Facility ID NXX
Elevation of weather observation facility 362
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 8
Time Zone of the weather observation EST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 9000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions --
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Broken
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 7
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) -7
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -17
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 100
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 9
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.41
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 2
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 14755
NTSB Notification Source Philadelphia FSDO
NTSB Notification Date Feb 26 2003 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1530
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Feb 5 2004 4:26PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Philadelphia

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N711AV
NTSB Number NYC03LA056
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Piper
Aircraft Model PA-44-180
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 44-7995215
Certified Max Gross Weight 3800
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 Dec 15 2002 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 45
Airframe Hours 5190
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Sabrina Beacham
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Wynnwood
Aircraft Owner State PA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 19096
Operator is an individual? No
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? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
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) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code LOM
Departure City Blue Bell
Departure State PA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1105
Departure Time Zone EST
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code --
Destination City Blue Bell
Destination State PA
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Takeoff
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Oct 17 2003 1:20PM
User who most recently changed record PEAR
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location 6
Runway Length 3700
Runway Width 75
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --