NYC99LA166

Factual narrative

On July 5, 1999, about 1230 Eastern Daylight Time, a Cessna 140, N72992, was substantially damaged during a landing at Raleigh County Memorial Airport (BKW), Beckley, West Virginia. The certificated private pilot and the passenger were uninjured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time. No flight plan was filed for the flight between Person County Airport (TDF), Roxboro, North Carolina, and Beckley. The personal flight was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91. The pilot stated that as he was landing on Runway 28, everything seemed to be normal. However, the "wind must have been a little stronger than I thought. Started into a ground loop." The airplane veered to the right, and went off the runway. The left main landing gear broke off, and the airplane's left wing impacted the ground. According to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Inspector, there was no evidence that the right brake had locked up, and upon inspection, the right wheel turned freely. Winds, recorded about 20 minutes after the accident, were variable, at 5 knots. During the landing roll, the airplane ground-looped and veered off the runway. Winds were variable, at 5 knots, and there was no evidence of brake malfunction. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12