Accident Details
On December 30, 2019, at approximately 1445 mountain standard time, a Mitsubishi MU-2-60 airplane, registration N43866, sustained substantial damage in an accident at Miley Memorial Field Airport (BPI) in Big Piney, Wyoming. The private pilot and three passengers were not injured. The flight was conducted under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight.
Sequence of Events
The pilot reported that the approach was normal, and no issues were encountered during initial runway contact. However, when he moved both throttles to the beta position, the left propeller appeared to engage beta while the right propeller did not. This asymmetry caused the airplane to deviate approximately 30 to 35 degrees from its intended heading. The pilot attempted to correct the drift using the nose gear steering control, but the effort was unsuccessful. The airplane departed the left side of the runway and began to turn, leading to the separation of the right main landing gear, contact of the right wing with terrain, and separation of the right wingtip. The airplane came to rest off the left side of the runway with the nose oriented toward the approach end.
Aftermath
The airplane was secured and retained at BPI for further examination. However, it was subsequently sold and removed from the airport before an examination could be coordinated.