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N44LJ accident description

West Virginia map... West Virginia list
Crash location 39.055000°N, 79.431389°W
Reported location is a long distance from the NTSB's reported nearest city. This often means that the location has a typo, or is incorrect.
Nearest city Davis, WV
37.826769°N, 82.084574°W
166.8 miles away
Tail number N44LJ
Accident date 16 Feb 2004
Aircraft type Piper PA-34-200
Additional details: None

NTSB Factual Report

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.

NTSB 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.

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