N20AK

On April 20, 2001, about 1355 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 337F, N20AK, was substantially damaged while landing at the New Kent County Airport (W96), Quinton, Virginia. The certificated private pilot was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the local personal flight conducted under 14 CFR Part 91.

In a written statement, the pilot said he departed runway 28, a 3,600 foot-long, 75 foot-wide, asphalt runway, and remained in the traffic pattern. The pilot had completed a full stop landing and a simulated go-around, and was on his third approach to the runway, when he encountered a "strong gust or shear," which pushed the airplane up and to the right. The pilot further stated, "I had almost completed the correction from the right edge [of the runway] to the center line when the bottom dropped out, dropping me about 10 to 12 feet to the runway..." The airplane bounced, began to porpoise, and the right wing and front propeller contacted the runway. The airplane then veered off the right side of the runway, and entered a ditch.

Examination of the wreckage by a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector did not reveal any pre-impact malfunctions; nor did the pilot report any.

According to FAA records, the pilot obtained his multi-engine private pilot rating on March 16, 2001.

The pilot reported about 1,100 hours of total flight experience, which included 25 hours of multi-engine flight experience. Prior to the accident flight, the pilot accumulated 15 hours of flight experience in the accident airplane, all with a flight instructor .

Winds reported at an airport about 11 miles west of W96, at 1354, were from 200 degrees at 14 knots.