N735PS

On August 28, 1998, about 1430 Eastern Daylight Time, a Cessna 182Q, N735PS, was substantially damaged during landing at Gadabout Gaddis Airport (ME08), Bingham, Maine. The certificated private pilot and his passenger were uninjured, and visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. No flight plan was filed for the personal flight from Augusta State Airport (AUG), Augusta, Maine, to Gadabout Gaddis Airport. The flight was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.

According to a witness, another pilot, the airplane made a short field approach to the same runway that three previous airplanes had used. The wind, estimated at 5 knots, shifted 180 degrees, and the airplane touched down long. It ground looped, and went over the river bank at the end of the runway. The witness also stated that the terrain around the airport was mountainous, "except for the river at the end of the runway, which will often cause wind shifts."

The pilot stated that he "never noticed a wind change," and that the airplane's "touchdown point increased, but not dramatically." After touchdown, he applied the brakes, but on the damp grass runway, the airplane slowed but did not stop. The pilot said he then tried to ground-loop the airplane, but it slid off the end of the runway and over the river bank.