Event NYC02LA017

Factual narrative

On October 26, 2001, about 1255 eastern daylight time, a Beech B95A, N919Q, was substantially damaged during an attempted go-around at Sky Manor Airport (N40), Pittstown, New Jersey. The certificated commercial pilot and the passenger received minor injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. No flight plan was on file for the flight, between Boire Field (ASH), Nashua, New Hampshire, and Pittstown. The personal flight was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91. The pilot reported that when he was about 20 miles north of Sky Manor, he obtained weather information from the Lehigh Valley International Airport ATIS, Allentown, Pennsylvania. Sky Manor had no weather reporting capability, and there was no response to the pilot's inquiry on the UNICOM frequency. According to the pilot, the winds at Lehigh Valley were reported as being from 240 degrees, at 21, gusting to 29 knots. Runway 25 was in use at Sky Manor. The pilot crossed midfield and entered the traffic pattern. Then, "After crossing over the high tension wires on short final it began to become bumpy and the wind changed direction and was not down the runway. It was now a crosswind. Approximately 100 feet [above] the runway I aborted the approach and decided to go around. On [the] second approach, the wind was changing direction again. This time, at approximately 20 feet [above] the runway, I decided to abort and proceed to another airport. I added power and started to climb. At just about the tree line parallel to the runway a severe gust rolled the aircraft inverted. The aircraft was inverted over the runway, caught the left side of the runway, and slid upside down approximately 25 feet in the grass to its stop." According to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector, a witness reported that during the go-around attempt, a wing "came up," the airplane then flipped over on its back, and nosed into the ground, leaving two impact marks from the engines on the runway. The pilot reported a total of 430 hours of flight time, with 86 hours in multi-engine airplanes and 30 hours in make and model. At 1251, the weather recorded at Lehigh Valley International Airport, about 23 nautical miles to the west, included winds from 260 degrees true, at 14, gusting to 22 knots. At 1253, the weather recorded at Trenton Mercer Airport, Trenton, New Jersey, about 20 nautical miles to the south, included winds from 290 degrees true, at 14, gusting to 21 knots. The pilot attempted two landings on runway 25. During his first landing attempt, he initiated a go-around about 100 feet above the runway. During his second landing attempt, he initiated a go-around about 20 feet above the runway. Shortly after the pilot added power, as the airplane was climbing past the treetops, the airplane rolled inverted, then hit the ground and slid upside down for approximately 25 feet. The pilot subsequently reported that during both approaches, the winds had shifted, and that during the second go-around attempt, "a severe gust rolled the aircraft inverted." Winds recorded at an airport 20 miles to the west, 4 minutes before the accident, were from 260 degrees true, at 14, gusting to 22 knots. The pilot reported 430 hours of total flight time, with 86 hours in multi-engine airplanes and 30 hours in make and model. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12