# Incident 20060422007339I: Piper PA25235, Moriarty, NM, April 22, 2006

- Type: FAA incident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: April 22, 2006, 13:14 local time
- Place: Moriarty, NM
- Airport: Moriarty Airport
- Damage: Minor damage
- Phase of flight: Roll-Out (Fixed Wing)
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 34.9782° N, 106.0000° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at MORIARTY MUNI (0E0), within about a mile (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=34.9782&lon=-106.0000&mi=10
- Aircraft: N4862Y, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N4862Y) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Piper PA-25-235 (registry code 7102504, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-pa-25-235) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming 0-540 series (registry code 41532, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-540-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA25235
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 1,040 total, 174 in this make and model, 16 in the last 90 days
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20060422007339I

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

(-23) ON 04/22/2006 AT 1314 MDT, A PIPER PA-25/250 PAWNEE (N4862Y) SUSTAINED MINOR DAMAGE DURING LANDING AT MORIARTY AIRPORT (0E0), MORIARTY, NM 87035. THE AIRCRAFT IS REGISTERED TO ALBUQUERQUE SOARING CLUB, INC., P.O. BOX 11254, ALBUQUERQUE, NM 87192 AND WAS BEING OPERATED FOR GLIDER TOWING BY THE PILOT ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ A MEMBER OF THE ALBUQUERQUE SOARING CLUB, WHEN THE INCIDENT OCCURRED. VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS PREVAILED AND NO FLIGHT PLAN HAD BEEN FILED FOR THE FLIGHT THAT HAD ORIGINATED FROM THE MORIARTY AIRPORT AT 1255 MDT. PILOT'S STATEMENT: THIS WAS THE FIRST GLIDER TOW OF THE DAY FOR THE ALBUQUERQUE SOARING CLUB. ON TAKEOFF AT ABOUT 1300 HOURS FROM RUNWAY 26 AT 0E0, THERE WAS A MODERATE 90 CROSSWIND FROM THE SOUTH WHICH CAUSED ME NO PROBLEMS. THE GLIDER RELEASED AT ABOUT 1,900 FEET AND I DID THE STANDARD LEFT DESCENDING TURN AND RETURNED TO THE AIRPORT TRAFFIC PATTERN. ON DOWNWIND I CRABBED TO THE RIGHT TO CORRECT FOR THE CROSSWIND. WHEN I TURNED BASE TO FINAL I NOTED THAT I HAD BEEN BLOWN TOO FAR TO THE RIGHT (NORTH) AND CORRECTED BY FLYING FINAL ON A SW PATH. THIS WAS MY FIRST INDICATION THAT THE CROSSWIND HAD INCREASED DRAMATICALLY DURING M                Y SHORT 15 MINUTE FLIGHT. MY SECOND INDICATION WAS THAT THE WINDSOCK WAS NOW STICKING STRAIGHT OUT 90 DEGREES TO THE RUNWAY. WHEN I REACHED THE RUNWAY I ALIGNED THE PLANE TO THE RUNWAY. I HELD THE LEFT (UPWIND) WIND LOW AND STARTED A THREE-POINT LANDING. AS I FLARED CLOSE TO THE RUNWAY AND WAS DESCENDING THE LEFT WING LIFTED. I GOT IT BACK UNDER CONTROL, BUT THEN THE LEFT WING LIFTED MUCH FASTER AND THE RIGHT WING TIP TOUCHED THE RUNWAY CAUSING DAMAGE TO THE FABRIC AND THE OUTER RIBS. I TAXIED TO OUR GLIDER OPERATIONS POINT WHERE AN INITIAL INSPECTION CONFIRMED THE DAMAGE. I THEN PUT THE PLANE IN ITS HANGAR AND GROUNDED IT. I THEN CHECKED THE STRENGTH OF THE 90 DEGREE CROSSWIND & FOUND THAT IT WAS VARYING BETWEEN 13 & 18 KTS. OUR CLUB ASSIGNED INSTRUCTOR ALSO TOLD ME THAT HE HAD SEEN DUST DEVILS IN THE AREA AT THE TIME OF MY LANDING. IF I EVER ENCOUNTER THIS SITUATION AGAIN & WITH THE BENEFIT OF 20/20 HINDSIGHT, I WOULD ELECT TO DO A GO-AROUND AND GET PROPERLY ALIGNED ON FINAL WITH THE RUNWAY. THIS WAY I COULD VERIFY THE AMOUNT OF WING DOWN COMBINED WITH A FORWARD SLIP NEEDED TO MAKE A SUCCESSFUL LANDING. IF THE CONTROL AUTHORITY WAS NOT SUFFICIENT TO SAFELY HANDLE THIS DEGREE OF CROSSWIND, I WOULD DROP THE TOW ROPE, DECLARE AN EMERGENCY AND LAND INTO THE WIND ON THE LONGEST TAXIWAY WHICH RUNS NORTH-SOUTH.

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft 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. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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