20070419005439A

(-23) This accident occurred at 1830 PDT on Thursday April 19. The aircraft was released to the airport operator and owner for disposition the same evening. Flight standards became aware of the accident at 0730 PDT on Friday April 20. The following is the pilot's privacy data omitted account of the accident. There were no witnesses or independent accounts available. The photos provided with this report were taken by emergency response personnel. Sequence: airman ^priva^ had received his private pilot certificate on 04/12/07 at sheble aviation's flight school. The CE-172 he was flying (N35562) had been rented from the school. The pilot ^priva^ had flown from kingman (igm) to laughlin/bullhead int'l (ifp) to pick up his mother and sister for a sightseeing flight. From ifp they flew to the west end of the Grand Canyon. The landing at Grand Canyon West Airport (1G4) was an unplanned contingency for the purposes of a bathroom break. As the pilot ^priva^ arrived in the area, the only other aircraft in the vicinity was a helicopter transitioning southeast of the airport. The pilot ^priva^ first made a low pass over runway 17 and determined the wind to be light and variable. The pilot ^priva^ reported that he then flew a normal approach at 65-70 knots. At approximately 20 feet AGL on short final, a gust from the right upset the aircraft, raising the right wing instantly. When the pilot ^priva^ recovered wings-level, the aircraft had been displaced 10 or more feet to the left of the runway edge, headed southeast 45 degrees to the runway centerline. With full power applied and airspeed indicating 40-45 knots, the pilot ^priva^ realized he would be unable to climb. He chose a vacant lot straight ahead for a landing. As the aircraft arrived at the lot, the nose gear struck a 3-4 foot berm and the aircraft nosed over to the inverted. The pilot ^priva^ said emergency response was on scene in one minute. The pilot ^priva^ stated that while he and his family were waiting for ground transportation back to kingman, another pilot mentioned that the particular gust phenomenon that had upset his aircraft was a known hazard. Damage: the flaps appeared to be fully extended and undamaged. The left wing strut had failed at the middle, possibly the result of torsion loads on the fuselage. The cabin was intact. The propeller had suffered significant damage and was deflected aft from contacting the berm under power. The front and bottom of the engine cowling was crushed. The nose gear strut had been bent backwards 70 degrees, and the nose wheel had separated from the strut. Both main gear legs were torn from the fuselage at the fuselage juncture. The aft fuselage structure had failed and deformed due to the vertical stabilizer contacting the ground. The dorsal extremities of the vertical stabilizer and rudder were crushed down 4-6 inches. Injuries: the pilot, his mother and his sister each received what were described as minor injuries. They refused treatment. Conclusions: the airman was appropriately rated. The airplane had no known or reported mechanical defects. The airport operations incident report characterized the wind as "s/w 10-15". Nevertheless, the pilot had no particular concerns about the wind prior to making his approach. The apparent cause of the accident is loss of control.