Docket And Docket Items - National Transportation Safety Board: http://dms.ntsb.gov/pubdms
Aviation Accident Data Summary - National Transportation Safety Board: http://app.ntsb.gov/pdf
http://registry.faa.gov/N7508D
NTSB Identification: ERA12CA587
14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation
Accident occurred Saturday, September 29, 2012 in North Huntingdon, PA
Probable Cause Approval Date: 01/31/2013
Aircraft: BUCKEYE 582 DREAM MACHINE, registration: N7508D
Injuries: 1 Minor,1 Uninjured.
NTSB investigators used data provided by various entities, including, but not limited to, the Federal Aviation Administration and/or the operator and did not travel in support of this investigation to prepare this aircraft accident report.
The noncertificated pilot was attempting to land a powered parachute in a field bordered on one side by trees and a residence on the other. Following two unsuccessful landing attempts, the pilot aborted a third landing attempt about 20 feet above the ground. During the climb, the powered parachute drifted to the right toward the trees. The pilot was unable to stop the drift with application of full left pedal and struck a tree. The pilot then increased the engine power to full, but the powered parachute continued to descend and impacted another tree. The parachute subsequently caught one of the tree limbs and fell straight down. The powered parachute impacted the ground on all three wheels, resulting in substantial damage to the undercarriage. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation and stated that he should not have tried to land without the aid of a windsock and indicated wind direction.
The National Transportation Safety Board determines the probable cause(s) of this accident to be:
The operation of a powered parachute by a noncertificated pilot. Contributing to the accident was the noncertificated pilot’s failure to maintain directional control during the climb following an aborted landing.
North Huntingdon police Sergeant Duane Kucera and Hartford Heights assistant fire chief Mark Gibas at the scene of an accident where and ultralight aircraft crash landed in a wooded area off of Nehrig Hill Road on September 29, 2012 near Ardara.North Huntingdon Township, PA — An powered parachute with two men on board crashed Saturday afternoon in a heavily wooded area of North Huntington Township near Nehrig Hill Road off of Route 993 in Westmoreland County. Rescue crews had to use to All Terrain Vehicles (ATV's) to reach the site of the crash.
The two men were trying to land in a nearby field and overshot their landing zone.
Rob Leuthold. the Tactical Rescue Leader on-scene described the situation: "Look like that came down and clipped part of a tree... And basically hit the ground pretty hard."
A medical helicopter transported one of the victims to UPMC Presbyterian Hospital with broken bones and cuts. The second man was taken by ambulance. Both are expected to be okay.
Two men were injured Saturday afternoon when the powered parachute they were riding crashed into the woods in a remote hilltop in the Ardara section of North Huntingdon.
One of the men was transported by ambulance to an area hospital and another was flown by medical helicopter to a trauma center in Pittsburgh, said Robert Leuthold, a North Huntingdon EMS/Rescue paramedic who was involved in the rescue.
North Huntingdon Police Sgt. Duane Kucera said he did not know the identities of those injured in the crash.
The powered parachute crashed at 3:58 p.m. in an area about 50 yards off Nehrig Hill Road. The parachute was hanging in trees adjacent to the engine.
Rescuers found the men on the ground, but close to the edge of a 30-foot dropoff above a dirt road. It took emergency personnel about 15 minutes to place the injured men in wire-mesh Stokes baskets and lower them to the ground, said Jason Fait, a team leader of North Huntingdon EMS rescue division.
Kucera said that the Federal Aviation Administration was notified of the accident.
Leuthold said they were told that the men riding in the powered parachute were going to a birthday party in the area and were looking for a nearby level field to land when they crashed.
One Nehrig Hill Road resident, Joseph Popovich, said he had heard the propeller from powered parachute flying overhead for a while then heard a bang.
“I thought someone in an ATV had come out (of the woods) and hit a car,” Popovich said.
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