N5635Q

On April 28, 1996, about 1700 eastern daylight time, a Mooney M20C, N5635Q, registered to a private owner, operating as a 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight, crashed on landing at the Jackson County Airport, Cullowhee, North Carolina. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The airplane was destroyed by a postcrash fire. The private pilot and two passengers reported no injuries. The flight originated from Vidalia, Georgia, about 1 hour 30 minutes before the accident.

The pilot stated he called UNICOM and was informed there was no other landing traffic, and the winds favored runway 14. He entered left traffic, completed the before landing check, lowered the flaps to 15 degrees, encountered some downdrafts, and increased power. He turned on base leg decreased airspeed to about 90 mph, lowered flaps to the full down position, turned on final approach, and encountered updrafts and downdrafts while descending to about 35 feet. The airplane was about 100 feet from the end of the runway, when it encountered gusty winds, downdrafts, and a subsequent collision with the ground.