20000315009139A

(-23) The pilot was flying in a glide approx. 200 ft. AGL when a gust of wind hit the aircraft and caused him to loose control. The aircraft stalled and the right wing struck a mesquite tree. The nose then impacted the ground with the left wing striking a mesquite tree. The aircraft came to rest on it's nose with the tail of the aircraft snapped off. Pieces of the aircraft were scattered around a 100 ft. diameter area. (.4) on March 15, 2000, at 1830 hours mountain standard time, an aero commander 100, N3896X, collided with the ground following an in-flight loss of control near Buckeye, Arizona. The airplane was destroyed during the impact sequence. The student pilot, the sole occupant, sustained serious injuries. A flight plan was not filed for the personal flight that originated at an unknown time from Buckeye municipal airport. According to the maricopa county sheriff's officers who responded to the scene, the pilot told them that he was flying at 200 feet AGL and he had reduced his engine speed to 90 miles per hour to "see how the airplane would gl ide at 200 feet. He increased the engine speed to compensate for the wind gust, overcompensated, and lost control of the airplane. A witness observed ther the airplane to his south flying east. He said he watched the airplane's right wing drop to a near vertical position and the airplane dove into the ground. He saw a cloud of dust and heard the crash. The witness responded to the scene with another witness. When they arrived at the crash site, they observed the pilot on his knees on the ground near the left side of the airplane. The first witness reported to a FAA inpsector that the pilot told him that he was not trying to land on a nearby private dirt airstrip but was just "screwing around". The sheriff's report stated that they located the airplane in a slightly hilly, open desert area. The report indicated that the airplane came to rest nose down, facing east. The tail of the airplane was pointing upwards about 90 degress. A sheriff's deputy measured the length of the ground scar leading to the wreckage as 76 feet. An inspection of the airplane by the FAA airworthiness inspector revealed that the enigne had separated from the airplane. Fuel was found in both tanks. The propelleer blades were bent forward. The throttle was fully forward and the mixturewas in the "rich" position. The primer was in and locked. According to the owner of Buckeye aviation, the owner had fueled his airplane the morning of the accident. He observed the pilot running the engine while he stood next to the unattended airplane. On another occasion, the owner of Buckeye aviation stated that he had looked inside the airplane and noted that all the seats were missing except for the pilot's seat. He noted that the pilot had not flown the airplane in several months, and that he watched the pilot perform several touch and go operations prior to departing the pattern. He stated that it was his opinion that no maintenance had been performed on this airplane in "many years." A friend of the pilot said that the pilot "hardly ever flew his airplane." The pilot's logbook and student pilot certificate were located and copied. A third-class medical certificate was issued to the pilot on March 18, 1998. The certificate contained the limitation that the pilot must have glasses available for near vision. An entry in the pilot log indicated that the pilot had been certificated safe for solo flight ina Cessna 150 on December 24, 1986. Additionally, there were three cross-country endorsements for flight in a Cessna 152, all dated from February to March 1987. The logbook did not have any flight instructor endorsements and a record of a flight review was not located. The mother of the pilot called investigators and said she was unaware her son had purchased an airplane. She stated that he was unemployed and had little money.