20201101019729A

On November 1, 2020, at approximately 3:00 p.m. eastern daylight time, a 1954 Piper aircraft, model PA-22-135, with registration N3225B, sustained substantial damage during landing on a private grass airstrip located in Warner Robins, Georgia. There was one person on board who sustained a minor injury and was treated and released at a local medical facility. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed. This was a commercial flight being conducted under the provisions of title 14 code of federal regulations part 91.

On November 1, 2020, at approximately 4:30 p.m. eastern daylight time, an FAA inspector from the atlanta flight standard district office (FSDO) arrived on scene to investigate the cause of the accident. Once on location the FAA inspector was met by members of the houston county fire department and the houston county sheriff?s office. A review of the wreckage revealed extensive damage to both wings evident of internal structural damage. An examination of the grass airfield revealed tire marks that clearly displayed the aircraft making a sharp right turn approximately 30 yards before the end of the runway. This harsh turn caused the aircraft to flip and become inverted which resulted in both wings being damaged. During an interview with the PIC he stated that it was his intention to perform a quick maintenance flight to troubleshoot a vibration that was coming from the instrument panel. Due to the current wind conditions the decision was made to depart runway 090 and to perform two touch & go?s and a full stop. Both touch and go?s were uneventful as he prepared for his final landing and stop. As he lined up to land he noticed that the wind had shifted and was causing his speed to increase as he tried to compensate with a decrease in throttle. At this point the aircraft was already at the start of the runway so the decision was made to go ahead and land on 090. As the aircraft touched down the PIC noticed that the aircraft was still accelerating as he noticed the wind had shifted and was at 270 and not 090, causing a tailwind effect. Unfortunately at this point there was not enough runway left to attempt an aborted landing so the decision was made to make every effort to apply excessive breaking to stop the aircraft. However, due to the excessive landing speed the aircraft was unable to slow down in a timely manner before running out of runway. Finally, the decision was made to make a wide right turn to hopefully assist the aircraft decelerate. This maneuver caused the right wing to lift in the air which resulted in the aircraft becoming inverted before finally coming to a complete stop. During all the commotion the PIC struck his head on the instrument panel and was transported to a local medical facility to be evaluated.