N7849G

On June 8, 1996, about 1600 Pacific daylight time, N7849G, a Cessna 172, sustained substantial damage in a collision with a hangar and fence during an attempted go-around from landing at Sisters Eagle Air Airport, Sisters, Oregon. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The flight, operated under 14 CFR 91, and flown by the aircraft owner with one passenger aboard, originated at Portland-Troutdale Airport, Portland, Oregon, and was on a visual flight rules flight plan. The private pilot and passenger (the pilot's wife) were not injured.

The pilot was attempting to land on runway 20 at Sisters (3,550 by 50 feet, asphalt, elevation 3,168 feet above sea level.) An FAA inspector assigned to the accident reported that the pilot told him that on the pilot's third landing attempt, a "gust of wind" blew the aircraft off course to the left, and that the airplane then struck the hangar and the fence, spun around facing 180 degrees to its direction of travel, and came to rest. The pilot reported winds on his NTSB accident report as being variable at 15 to 20 knots and indicated that there was light to moderate turbulence. Winds at Redmond (17 nautical miles east of the accident site) at 1435 were reported as being from 330 degrees magnetic at 12 knots, gusting to 16 knots. The pilot did not provide a written narrative account of the event on the accident report, nor did he sign or date his accident report. The passenger reported: "We were coming in for a landing which seemed to be right on target. On touchdown we became airborne two times and on the third time the pilot decided to do a go around when a gust of wind pushed us into a [hangar], [through] a fence where we came to a stop...."

The FAA inspector assigned to the accident, who responded to the scene, reported that the hangar the airplane struck was approximately 185 feet from the runway. The inspector also reported that winds were gusty, and that there were altocumulus standing lenticular clouds to the north of the airport, during his post-accident on-site examination. He stated that control cable continuity on the aircraft was good. The FAA inspector stated an opinion to the NTSB investigator-in-charge (IIC) that terrain conditions at the airport were conducive to generation of "severe localized crosswind[s]" or "rotor[s]." The U.S. Government Airport/Facility Directory (A/FD) notes the presence of rising terrain off the departure end of runway 2.

Copies of FAA medical certificates furnished by the pilot with his accident report indicated that the pilot's most recent FAA medical certificate as of the date of the accident was a Third Class medical dated April 16, 1993. Per 14 CFR 61.23c, this certificate would have expired on April 30, 1995. The pilot also submitted a copy of a Third Class medical certificate dated June 12, 1996, four days after the accident. Neither medical certificate contained any limitations or restrictions.