20030620011609A

Accident · Substantial damage

FAA accident report · Maule M7235C · Moses Lake, WA · June 20, 2003

Date
June 20, 2003 · 07:45 local
Place
Moses Lake, WA
Airport
Grant County
Phase of flight
Level Off Touchdown
Operating rules
General operating rules (Part 91)
Damage
Substantial damage
Aircraft
CFCDM
Reported as
Maule M7235C
People aboard
2
Fatal injuries
0
Pilot’s flight hours
550 total400 in this make and model20 in the last 90 days

From the FAA’s Accident/Incident Data System (AIDS), through its Aviation Safety Information Portal, as reported. The NTSB investigates accidents separately, and its record of an accident is the fuller one. The aircraft is matched to the registry by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

What happened

The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.

(-23) privacy data omitted the wind was reported from 250 degrees at 19 knots. The tower cleared the aircraft to land on runway 14. The pilot questioned this since the wind favored runway 22. The aircraft was subsequently cleared to land on runway 22. The aircraft approached the runway with a nineteen knot quartering crosswind from the right and touched down in a sideslip on the right main landing gear with the right wing low. As the aircraft decelerated the left main landing gear came down more quickly than expected and the inertia allowed the aircraft to continue tipping to the left until the left wing contacted the runway. The left roll effect was intensified by the crosswind from the right. The pilot was unable to return the aircraft to a level attitude and so cut the power and stopped.

As the FAA filed it

(-23) ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ THE WIND WAS REPORTED FROM 250 DEGREES AT 19 KNOTS. THE TOWER CLEARED THE AIRCRAFT TO LAND ON RUNWAY 14. THE PILOT QUESTIONED THIS SINCE THE WIND FAVORED RUNWAY 22. THE AIRCRAFT WAS SUBSEQUENTLY CLEARED TO LAND ON RUNWAY 22. THE AIRCRAFT APPROACHED THE RUNWAY WITH A NINETEEN KNOT QUARTERING CROSSWIND FROM THE RIGHT AND TOUCHED DOWN IN A SIDESLIP ON THE RIGHT MAIN LANDING GEAR WITH THE RIGHT WING LOW. AS THE AIRCRAFT DECELERATED THE LEFT MAIN LANDING GEAR CAME DOWN MORE QUICKLY THAN EXPECTED AND THE INERTIA ALLOWED THE AIRCRAFT TO CONTINUE TIPPING TO THE LEFT UNTIL THE LEFT WING CONTACTED THE RUNWAY. THE LEFT ROLL EFFECT WAS INTENSIFIED BY THE CROSSWIND FROM THE RIGHT. THE PILOT WAS UNABLE TO RETURN THE AIRCRAFT TO A LEVEL ATTITUDE AND SO CUT THE POWER AND STOPPED.