N9532M

On May 31, 1996, at 1000 central daylight time, a Mooney M20F, N9532M, sustained substantial damage when it impacted the terrain and a hangar. The private pilot was landing the airplane on runway 18 (2,202' x 49' dry/asphalt) at Festus, Missouri, when the airplane drug the left wing and turned left from the intended landing runway. The pilot reported no injuries. The personal 14 CFR Part 91 flight was operating in visual meteorological conditions. No flight plan was on file. The flight departed Inverness, Florida, at 0500.

The pilot stated that he was attempting to land when a "strong gust of wind" moved the airplane to the left of the runway. He was unable to regain alignment with the runway prior to the left wing dragging the ground and the airplane then ran into a hangar. The pilot stated that he usually used 10 degrees of landing flap; however due to the 2,202 foot runway length, he elected to use 20 degrees of flap for this landing. The pilot did not report any mechanical problems with the airplane prior to the accident and an examination of the wreckage did not reveal anything other than impact damage.

The pilot reported the winds to be from 190 to 270 degrees at 15 knots with gusts to 20 knots. A weather reporting station 70 miles to the southeast was reporting winds from 120 degrees at 9 knots, 17 minutes prior to the accident.