Toughkenamon, PA, USA
N60812
Boeing Stearman A75N1
According to the pilot, he was instructed by personnel on the ground to side-step, and land on a grass strip located to the left of the runway. After touching down on the grass, a wind gust raised the right wing, and the airplane veered off the left side of the runway. The airplane then impacted trees, and came to rest upright. The winds recorded at a nearby airport, about the time of the accident, were from 280 degrees, at 21 knots, with gusts to 27 knots.
On June 2, 2002, about 1205 eastern daylight time, a Boeing Stearman A75N1, N60812, was substantially damaged while landing at the New Garden Airport (N57), Toughkenamon, Pennsylvania. The certificated private pilot and passenger were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed for the personal flight conducted under 14 CFR Part 91. According to the pilot, he was on approach for runway 24, a 3,659-foot-long asphalt strip, when he was instructed by personnel on the ground to side-step, and land on a grass strip located to the left of the runway. After touching down on the grass, a wind gust raised the right wing, and the airplane veered off the left side of the runway. The airplane then impacted trees, and came to rest upright. Examination of the airplane by a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector revealed damage to the top and bottom of the left wing, and the left wing spar. The airplane also sustained damage to the propeller and engine cooling fins. The pilot did not report any mechanical problems with the airplane. A weather observation, recorded at an airport 13 miles to the northwest of N57, included wind from 280 degrees, at 21 knots with gusts to 27 knots.
The pilot's failure to maintain directional control while landing, a factor was the gusting wind conditions.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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