N6153D

On May 28, 1994, about 1040 eastern daylight time, a Piper PA-22, N6153D, owned and piloted by Daniel N. MacLean, was substantially damaged during landing at the Eddie Dew Memorial Airport, Toronto, Ohio. The pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. A flight plan had not been filed for the flight operating under 14 CFR 91.

In the NTSB Form 6120.1/2, the pilot stated that after a local flight, he was enroute back to his departure airport. Arriving at his destination he flew the traffic pattern to observe the wind sock, and determined that runway 16 would be his runway of choice.

He further stated:

"...On final approach, airspeed indicated 80 mph. Just short of the threshold a severe gust of wind from the right lifted the wing. I attempted to correct the drift to the left and about 25 feet from the ground I encountered a severe wind shear or a shift of wind from the tail, at which time the aircraft dropped to the runway, the nose wheel broke off and the Oleo strut dug into the grass and upset the aircraft onto its top..."

According to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Inspector who interviewed the pilot:

"...[The pilot] said that a gust of wind caught him and nosed him over into the ground. Mr. MacLean said there was a lot of turbulence at the airport the day of his crash and was a contributing factor...[the pilot] said that when you are within approximately 30 to 40 feet of the ground all the turbulence abates. I have personally flown this model aircraft and found that 75 MPH on final is a little slow for me...It is my opinion that Mr. MacLean either stalled the aircraft on final approach or developed an excessively high rate of sink that he could not arrest before landing...turbulence does not appear to have caused the accident. Mr.MacLean has relatively little flight experience and I believe that lack of experience was a contributing factor..."

The winds at an airport, 17 miles from the accident site, were reported as 240 degrees at 6 knots.