19990409003419A

Acft encountered a crosswind on landing and cartwheeled off the rwy. (.19) on April 9, 1999, at 1046 hours mountain standard time, a witzel glassair ii ft, N71TL, lost directional control during a landing attempt on runway 23 and subsequently cartwheeled off the runway at case Grande, Arizona. The aircraft, owned and operated by the pilot, sustained substantial damage. The private pilot and his passenger sustained minor injuries. A flight plan was not filed for the flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed with the winds reported to be 280 degrees at 16 knots, gusting to 22 knots. The personal flight, conducted under CFR part 91 of the federal aviation regulations, originated at carlsbad, California, at an unknown time, and was destined for las cruces, new Mexico. An eyewitness, a certified flight instructor who was just finishing up a training flight with a student, estimated that a 30-degree crosswind existed and stated that the winds were gusting to 25-28 knots during his landing moments before this accident on runway 23. The flight instructor said that the pilot of the glassair appeared to be fast while on his final approach to the runway. He said it appeared to him that the pilot was trying to force the airplane on to the runway. As the airplane touched down, it bounced into the air and the pilot again atttempted to toucjh down on the runway. The witness stated that a gust of wind caught the aircraft and the airplane bounced back into the air. He said that on the third bounce, a gust of wind caught the right wing and put the airplane on "knife edge," and the wind proceeded to push him over and the left wingtip hit the dirt and the airplane cartwheeled for about 100 feet before coming to a stop. The witness said the pilot never appeared to attempt to go-around during the sequence and that it also appeared like the aircraft still had power applied to it. He concluded his statement by saying, "it didn't look like the pilot ever had it under control". (.4)the pilot stated that he listened to the automated weather and learned that the winds were from 280 degrees at 10 knots, gusting to 25 knots. He attempted to land on runway 23 and said he carried some extra speed to account for the extra wind gusts. He said he encountered a wind gust, which lifted the airplane about 8 feet off the ground. He then decided to do a go-around but was unable to roll the wings level and thought he may have been below stall speed at that point. The left wing impacted the ground and the airplane cartwheeled. A CFI witness, who landed immediately prior to the accident, said as they landed their airplane the winds were gusting to 25-28 knots, and he estimated they had a 30-knot crosswind component. He said he saw the accident airplane on approach, and that it 'looked fast on final.' He said it appeared that it bounced several times prior to a wind gust picking up the right wing. (-23)pilot was enroute from carlsbad, CA to las cruese, NM when he decided to alnd at Casa Grande, AZ to top off the aircraft fuel tanks. Realizing the winds in the area were 10 knots, the pilot elected to land at Casa Grande, as he stated it had the most favorable runway for the existing conditions. Pilot reported approach to be normal until the moment of touchdown when a "particularly strong gust" took him in the air and control of the aircraft was lost as the left wingtip came into contact with the ground during his attempt to go around. The aircraft broke apart upon ground contact, however, the pilot and passenger received only minor injuries.