Individually Owned: 150,657
Corporate Owned: 137,281
Virginia Tech/Montgomery Execu Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report
Blacksburg, Virginia 24060
Thursday, July 27, 2006 16:04 EDT
NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident
The airplane was completely fueled earlier during the day, and completed one flight uneventfully. The airplane departed on runway 30 for a return flight to the pilot's home airport. About 200 feet agl, the engine began to run rough and lost partial power. The electric fuel pump was already on, and the pilot switched fuel tanks, but the engine continued to run rough. The pilot initially flew a left hand traffic pattern for runway 30; however, he subsequently did not think the airplane would reach that runway. The pilot then performed a forced landing to a closed runway oriented about 070 degrees. The airplane touched down near the end of the runway, traveled over a grassy area, and struck trees. Examination of the wreckage revealed that the flaps were in the retracted position. The left wing fuel tank was compromised during the impact. The right wing fuel tank remained intact, and was approximately 1/4-full. In addition, fuel was present in the fuel manifold. The fuel selector was found positioned toward the left tank position, but not in the detent. Further examination of the wreckage revealed that the number six exhaust valve pushrod was bent, possibly during recovery of the airplane. Examination of the engine, including the number six cylinder exhaust valve, did not reveal any preimpact mechanical malfunctions. The airplane's most recent annual inspection was performed about 20 days prior to the accident, and the airplane had accumulated approximately 3 hours of operation since the inspection.
NTSB Probable Cause Narrative
A partial loss of engine power for undetermined reasons, which resulted in a forced landing after takeoff, and subsequent collision with trees.
Event Information
| Type of Event | Accident |
| Event Date | 7/27/2006 |
| Event Day of the Week | Thursday |
| Time of Event | 1604 |
| Event Time Zone | Eastern Daylight Time |
| Event City | Blacksburg |
| Event State | VIRGINIA |
| Event Country | -- |
| Zipcode of the event site | 24060 |
| Event Date Year | 2006 |
| Event Date Month | 7 |
| MidAir Collision Indicator | No |
| On Ground Collision occurred ? | No |
| Event Location Latitude | 371228N |
| Event Location Longitude | 0802428W |
| Event Location Airport | Virginia Tech/Montgomery Execu |
| Event Location Nearest Airport ID | BCB |
| Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport | Off Airport/Airstrip |
| Distance from airport in statute miles | 0.5 |
| Degrees magnetic from airport | -- |
| Airport Elevation | 2132 |
| Weather Briefing Completeness | -- |
| Investigator's weather source | Weather Observation Facility |
| Time of the weather observation | 1600 Eastern Daylight Time |
| Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) | 0 |
| Weather Observation Facility ID | BCB |
| Elevation of weather observation facility | 2132 |
| Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) | 0 |
| Time Zone of the weather observation | EDT |
| Lighting Conditions | Day |
| Lowest Ceiling Height | -- |
| Lowest Non-Ceiling Height | -- |
| Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions | Clear |
| Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling | None |
| Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) | -- |
| Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) | -- |
| Visibility (Statute Miles) | 10 |
| Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) | 28 |
| Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) | 19 |
| Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) | 260 |
| Variable Wind Indicator | Wind direction could be determined |
| Wind Speed (knots) | 5 |
| Wind Velocity Indicator | -- |
| Wind Gust Indicator | Not Gusting |
| Wind Gust (knots) | -- |
| Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) | 30.15 |
| Density Altitude (feet) | -- |
| Intensity of Precipitation | -- |
| METAR weather report | -- |
| Event Highest Injury | Serious |
| On Ground, Fatal Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Minor Injuries | -- |
| On Ground, Serious Injuries | -- |
| Injury Total Fatal | -- |
| Injury Total Minor | 1 |
| Injury Total None | -- |
| Injury Total Serious | 1 |
| Injury Total All | 2 |
| Investigating Agency | NTSB |
| NTSB Docket Number (internal use) | 21826 |
| NTSB Notification Source | FAA EROC |
| NTSB Notification Date | Jul 27 2006 12:00AM |
| NTSB Notification Time | -- |
| Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information | DMS |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jul 25 2007 12:22PM |
| User who most recently changed record | NTSB\lema |
| Basic weather conditions | Visual Meteorological Cond |
| FAA District Office | Richmond, VA |
Aircraft Involved |
|
|---|---|
Aircraft #1 |
|
| Aircraft Registration Number | N43945 |
| NTSB Number | NYC06LA185 |
| Missing Aircraft Indicator | -- |
| Federal Aviation Reg. Part | Part 91: General Aviation |
| Type of Flight Plan filed | IFR |
| Flight plan Was Activated? | No |
| Damage | Substantial |
| Aircraft Fire | None |
| Aircraft Explosion | None |
| Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name | Piper |
| Aircraft Model | PA-32R-300 |
| Aircraft Series Identifier | -- |
| Aircraft Serial Number | 7780531 |
| Certified Max Gross Weight | 3600 |
| Aircraft Category | Airplane |
| Aircraft Registration Class | -- |
| Aircraft is a homebuilt? | No |
| Flight Crew Seats | -- |
| Cabin Crew Seats | -- |
| Passenger Seats | -- |
| Total number of seats on the aircraft | 6 |
| Number of Engines | 1 |
| Fixed gear or retractable gear | Fixed |
| Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection | Annual |
| Date of Last Inspection | Jul 1 2006 12:00AM |
| Airframe hours since last inspection | 3 |
| Airframe Hours | 4461 |
| ELT Installed | Yes |
| ELT Activated | No |
| ELT Aided Location of Event Site | No |
| ELT Type | -- |
| Aircraft Owner Name | Lews Flying Service |
| Aircraft Owner Street Address | -- |
| Aircraft Owner City | Warsaw |
| Aircraft Owner State | VA |
| Aircraft Owner Country | USA |
| Aircraft Owner Zipcode | 22572 |
| Operator is an individual? | No |
| Operator Name | Linwood E Wadsworth |
| Operator Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Is Doing Business As | -- |
| Operator Address Same as Owner? | No |
| Operator Street Address | -- |
| Operator City | Mount Holly |
| Operator State | VA |
| Operator Country | USA |
| Operator Zip code | 22524 |
| 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 | BCB |
| Departure City | Blacksburg |
| Departure State | VA |
| Departure Country | USA |
| Departure Time | 1600 |
| Departure Time Zone | EDT |
| Destination Same as Local Flt | -- |
| Destination Airport Code | W79 |
| Destination City | Tappahannock |
| Destination State | VA |
| Destination Country | USA |
| Specific Phase of Flight | Takeoff - initial climb |
| Report sent to ICAO? | -- |
| Evacuation occurred | -- |
| Date of most recent change to record | Jun 24 2007 1:51PM |
| User who most recently changed record | MUZD |
| Since inspection or accident | Time of Accident |
| Event Location Runway Number and Location | 07 |
| Runway Length | 5000 |
| Runway Width | 100 |
| Sight Seeing flight | No |
| Air Medical Flight | No |
| Medical Flight | -- |