N5523P

On September 4, 1993, at 1405 hours Pacific daylight time, a Piper PA-24-250, N5523P, collided with a boundary fence while landing at the Hesperia, California, airport. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time and no flight plan was filed for the operation. The aircraft incurred substantial damage. The certificated private pilot and the two passengers were not injured. The flight originated at El Monte, California, on the day of the mishap, at 1330 hours as a personal cross country flight.

The Hesperia airport is located in a bowl shaped depression and is surrounded by trees on all sides.

In his statement, the pilot said that he was on short final approach when the aircraft encountered turbulence and a down draft. The pilot said that even with the application of full power, he was unable to arrest the descent prior to the landing gear colliding with the airport boundary fence. The aircraft owner was on board as a passenger. The owner and the second passenger stated that on final approach the air was very turbulent, especially when the aircraft descended below the tops of the trees which surround the airport. The aircraft owner stated that he thought the aircraft encountered a low level wind shear caused by the trees.

The closest official weather reporting station is Edwards AFB, which is located 49 miles north west of the Hesperia airport. At the time of the accident, Edwards was reporting winds from 240 degrees at 18 knots, with gusts to 27 knots.