19991218036879A

(.19) On December 18, 1999, at 1130 hours pacific standard time, a Cessna 172A, N34261, veered off the runway and collided with a bush while landing on runway 33 at the Shoshone, California, airport. The airplane, owned by the pilot's wife, sustained substantial damage. The private pilot and his passenger were not injured. The airplane was operated under 14 CFR part 91 as a personal flight when the accident occurred. Visual meteorogical conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed. The flight originated at mojave, California, at 1030. The pilot told investigators that he got caught "in one of those microbursts" and lost control of the airplane. He also stated that there was nothing mechanically wrong with the airplane. The pilot said that he overflew the runway to determine the wind direction and that the windsock was "in tatters," but that the winds were right down runway 33. He said he set up to do a short field landing and put in 40 degrees of flaps andas he flared, a microburst raised the right wing he thought the airplane was going to become inverted. He put in rudder and aileron and added power to try and takeoff. He said the airplane went off the runway and the right wing hit a bush, followed by the left wing, and finally the nose hitting the ground. He estimated the winds were 10-15 knots. An aircraft retriever who responded to the scene the next morning to recover the airplane stated that the winds were "incredibly strong" with gusts estimated to be approximately 60 mph. He stated that the winds would blow, then die down and begin to blow again. He estimated that the winds were pretty much right down the runway. (-23)while approaching to land on runway 33 at Shoshone, flaps full, a strong gust of wind hit the aircraft, forcing it off the center line of the left. The pilot added full power, reduced the flaps to 20 in an attempt to make a go-around. Struck a bush with the right wing forcing the aircraft to the ground.