Swearingen SA-226T N125WG

Summary

On 11 April 2007 at about 16:15 local time, a Swearingen SA-226T registered N125WG was involved in an accident near Wheeling, Illinois, United States. 5 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

11 April 2007 at 16:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Wheeling, Illinois, United States

Nearest airport

Chicago Executive (PWK)

Coordinates

Not recorded

Aircraft

Swearingen SA-226T

Registration

N125WG

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Executive/Corporate

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Wheeling → Shreveport

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

IMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CHI07LA108

Nobody was injured.

Partial failure of the left engine propeller governor during the takeoff ground roll. Factors included that directional control was not possible by the pilot which subsequently led to a collision with an airport sign.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that upon reaching approximately 75 knots during the takeoff roll, he felt a surge from the left engine. He noted that the "surging continued and positive directional control could not be regained," at which point he closed the throttles and elected to abort the takeoff. The pilot attempted to maintain directional control by using differential braking and rudder inputs. The airplane subsequently departed the left side of the runway and impacted an airport sign, causing the nose landing gear to collapse, before coming to rest. Post accident testing of the left propeller governor unit revealed that the component pressure gain was approximately one-half of the manufacturer's specification, resulting in the unstable engine operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.