CHI99LA218

The pilot said he flew over the airport, observed the wind sock '...wiggling up and down...,' and decided to land on runway 27 because the winds were from 290 degrees at 10 to 20 miles per hour. He said he knew the winds were coming from the airplane's right side and were gusty. The pilot said a strong gust of wind pushed the airplane toward the left side of the runway. The pilot said he applied full right aileron control and the hand brakes as a crosswind correction. The pilot said the nose wheel collided with a runway edge light that caused the nose wheel fork to separate from the nose landing gear strut. The airplane nosed over shortly after that. The Piper PA-22 series airplanes do not have individual toe brakes. The brake system is activated by a brake handle that causes both brakes to work simultaneously. Reported winds at the time of the accideent were 330 degrees with a steady wind at 17 miles per hour (mph) and gusts to 26 mph. According to the regulations the airplane was certified under, its demonstrated cross wind component is 10 mph. The FAA's cross wind component chart showed the accident airplane's steady wind cross wind component was 16 mph. The airplane's demonstrated cross wind figure is not published in the manufacturer's owner's handbook or airplane flight manual.

On July 7, 1999, at 1640 eastern standard time (est), a Piper PA- 22-150, N9964D, piloted by a private pilot, was substantially damaged when it nosed over after departing the left edge of runway 27 (3,017' X 60' dry asphalt) at the Presque Isle County Airport, Rogers City, Michigan. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The personal 14 CFR Part 91 flight was not operating on a flight plan. The pilot reported no injuries. The flight departed West Branch, Michigan, at 1530 est.

The pilot said he flew over the airport and decided to land on runway 27 after observing the wind sock. During an interview the pilot said the wind was from about 290 degrees and the wind sock was wobbling up and down. He said the wind speed was between 10 and 20 miles per hour (mph). According to the pilot, he flew N9964D at 84 mph while on final approach "...and encountered slight turbulence... ."

The pilot said he "Touched [the airplane] down at about stall speed, 50 [mph], and was corrected for slight cross wind." He said he applied full right yoke into the wind and began applying the hand brake. As the airplane slowed down it was "...suddenly pushed hard to the left..." side of the runway. During an interview with the pilot he said he thought the 90 degree cross wind component for N9964D was 10 mph.

The airplane's nose landing gear tire struck a runway edge lighting assembly as it began rolling onto the sod clearway next to the runway. The nosewheel fork separated from the nose strut during the collision sequence. The pilot said he "...pulled the yoke full to the rear but the aircraft still nosed down and suddenly flipped over on its back."

The Piper PA-22-150 (PA-22) was certified under the 1949 version of Civil Air Regulation (CAR) Part 3. According to CAR 3.145, "There shall be no uncontrollable looping tendency in 90-degree cross winds up to a velocity equal to 0.2Vso at any speed at which the aircraft may be expected to be operated upon the ground... ."

The PA-22's gross weight stall speed with flaps fully extended (Vso) is 49 miles per hour (mph). Its stall speed with flaps fully retracted (Vs1) is 53 mph. According to CAR 3.145, the demonstrated crosswind component for the PA-22 is about 10 mph at Vso and 11 mph at Vs1.

CAR 3.755(a), entitled, "Markings and placards," say that "...markings and placards specified [below] are required for all airplanes." The requirements do not include the demonstrated cross wind capability. CAR 3.777(b), entitled, "Airplane Flight Manual," says that "...airplanes having a maximum certificated weight of 6,000 pounds or less [are not required to have an] Airplane Flight Manual... ." The regulation says that "...information prescribed in this part for inclusion in the Airplane Flight Manual shall be made available to the operator by the manufacturer in the form of clearly stated placards, markings and listing." The requirements do not include a demonstrated cross wind capability for the airplane. Excerpts of CAR 3 are appended to this report.

The demonstrated crosswind capability for the PA-22 was not found in the PA-22 Owner's Handbook. It was not found on the Type Certificate Data sheets, and it was not found in the Piper PA-22 Aircraft Flight Manual. The only information relating to its 90 degree cross wind capabilities was found in the now superceded FAA's "Flight Training Handbook," AC61-21A. The section, in part, "Federal Aviation Regulations require that all airplanes, type-certificated since 1962, have safe ground handling characteristics with a 90 degree cross wind component equal to 0.2Vso." An excerpt of this manual section is appended to this report.

The FAA published a replacement text for AC61-21A. Its title is, "Airplane Flying Handbook," FAA-H-8083-3. A review of the text's information related to cross wind landings revealed no method that a pilot could calculate an airplane's crosswind capability, or calculate the 90 degree cross wind speeds. Excerpts' from the publication is appended to this report.

Reported winds at the time of the accident airport were 330 degrees at 15 knots (17 mph) with gusts to 23 knots (26 mph). According to a cross wind component chart in AC61-21A, N9964D had a steady 90 degree crosswind component of about 14 knots (16 mph) with a gust 90 degree crosswind component of 20 knots (23 mph). The FAA chart is appended to this report.

The pilot's logbook showed the pilot had obtained a 14 CFR Part 61.56 Flight Review on July 7, 1999. The flight Review logbook entry states, "Instruction for BFR. Power on and off stalls. Navigation practice." The last logged flight before this entry was on August 19, 1998. The entry read, "Cross wind landing." The entry showed one landing.

The Piper PA-22 series airplanes do not have individual toe brakes. The brake system is activated by a handle that is directly below the center of the instrument panel. The handle activates both brakes at the same time.