N8514W

On March 11, 1995, at 1600 central standard time, a Piper PA-28- 235, N8514W, was substantially damaged during landing at Hobart, Oklahoma. The private pilot and two passengers were not injured. One passenger received minor injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the personal cross country flight from Borger, Texas to Mena, Arkansas.

The pilot reported the information in the following paragraph. He decided to land at Hobart Municipal Airport due to deteriorating visibility. While he was flaring the airplane for landing on runway 17, a wind gust raised the left wing. Full power was added in an attempt to go around; however, the right wing tip contacted the ground. The airplane then "bellied in at a 90 degree angle to the runway on the grass." After exiting the airplane, the pilot noticed that the wind direction was "changing abruptly by about 30 degrees."

A Federal Aviation Administration Inspector examined the wreckage and made the following observations. The first ground strike was 425 yards south and 94 yards west of the north end of runway 17 where a panel from the left wing was located. The airplane came to rest a total distance of 168 yards west of the runway. Damage included separation of the engine, the left main landing gear, and the nose landing gear, deformation of the firewall, and an upward bending of the outboard left and right wings.