N20952

On June 20, 1999, about 1420 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 172M, N20952, was substantially damaged while landing at the Fayette Airport (I89), Fayetteville, West Virginia. The certificated commercial pilot and two passengers were seriously injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan had been filed for the local sightseeing flight conducted under 14 CFR Part91.

The airplane was landing on runway 21, a 2,010-foot long, 20-foot wide, asphalt runway.

According to the pilot, when the airplane was about 20 feet above the runway, "a gust of wind picked the airplane up" and the airplane's altitude increased 70 feet, "in a matter of seconds." He further stated:

"I was still in a landing configuration and when I realized that I [would] run out of runway, I applied power to go around. A windshear gust dropped the plane down about 50 feet and the plane was unable to clear the tree tops...."

In a written statement, the passenger seated in the rear seat said:

"Everything seemed alright as far as the flight. As we came down for landing, it seemed like the wind picked up and we missed the landing strip. We landed on the right of the runway. It was real bumpy and it seemed like we were trying to pick back up and takeoff and the right wing clipped a tree and the plane flipped over..."

A witness at the airport stated:

"...Everything looked fine at first. Then suddenly the plane began to tilt back and forth from left to right just above the runway. Then the airplane touched down three times, but each time it sort of bounced back up. On the third bounce the plane took flight again. Almost immediately the plane started veering right...About that time the plane continued right clipping limbs of a tree and then vanished...."

He then observed gray smoke.

Another witness who observed the landing stated:

"...The right wing tipped down but the pilot corrected and the plane touched down in what appeared to be a normal landing. The plane only touched the ground for a moment though and then lifted back off the runway. It did this about three times and then it veered off the runway to the right where the wings began sheering off small bushes and shrubs. It was headed for a group of trees when I heard the engine get louder and the plane attempt to takeoff. The plane rose quickly but it couldn't clear the top of the trees..."

Examination of the wreckage by a Federal Aviation Administration Inspector did not reveal any pre-impact malfunctions of the airframe or engine; nor did the pilot report any. The airplane impacted near the tops of 50 to 60 foot tall trees, located about 230 feet to the right of the runway.

The wind reported at a nearby airport, at 1451, was from 100 degrees at 6 knots.

The pilot reported he had been hired by the airplane's owner to perform the sightseeing flight. He also stated that the accident flight was the first sightseeing flight he had flown for the owner; however, he had flown the accident airplane on several previous occasions, and had performed about 150 landings at I89.