Primary finding
Probable cause
The pilot's delayed decision to perform an aborted landing.
Investigator assessment
Analysis narrative
The pilot reported that he was part of a flight of three airplanes that had taken off from a nearby private dirt airstrip about 18 miles from the accident location. The pilots in the flight intended to land their airplanes in a clear area of a field. They overflew the intended 1,000-foot-long landing area to make sure it was clear. The accident pilot landed second, and, nearing the touchdown, noted that the wind was calm, but with periods of variability. He stated that a temporary tailwind of about 5 knots caused a higher ground speed on touchdown than he expected. As the airplane neared the end of the landing area, the pilot observed that the airplane had too much speed to stop in the remaining distance and an aborted landing was no longer possible. The pilot stated that he entered a left turn and let it progress to a controlled ground loop to avoid overrunning the landing area. The right wing hit a raised dirt area, and the right wing tip and spar, right aileron, and right landing gear and wheel were damaged. The pilot reported no mechanical malfunctions with the airplane.
Source record
Factual narrative
The pilot reported that he was part of a flight of three airplanes that had taken off from a nearby private dirt strip about 18 miles from the accident location. The pilots in the flight intended to land in a clear area of a field. They overflew the intended landing strip to make sure it was clear. The landing area was about 1,000 feet long and 1/4 mile wide. The accident pilot landed second, and nearing the touchdown, noted that the wind was calm, but with periods of speed increase and variability. He stated that a temporary tail wind had come up of about 5 knots, which caused a higher ground speed on touchdown than he expected. As the airplane neared the end of the landing strip, the pilot observed that the airplane had too much speed to stop in the remaining distance and a go-around was no longer possible. The pilot stated that he entered a left turn and let it progress to a controlled ground loop to avoid running off the end of the dirt strip. The pilot reported no mechanical malfunctions with the airplane, and that the right wing tip and spar, along with the aileron, and right landing gear and wheel were damaged.