SEA97LA021

During a flight from Laramie, WY, to Boulder, CO, the pilot encountered deteriorating weather and reversed course. After the pilot arrived back at his private airstrip, he found snow, low ceilings, and obscured visibility. He elected to land in what he estimated was about one-quarter mile visibility, but was fast on final approach and landed long. He was unable to stop the aircraft on the remaining runway, and after it departed the airstrip, it went through a fence, then it nosed over as it rolled through a ditch.

On October 25, 1996 at 1330 mountain daylight time, a Maule M-7-235, N5664Y, collided with a fence and nosed over while rolling through a ditch after running off the end of a private airstrip near Laramie, Wyoming. The commercial pilot, who was the sole occupant, was not injured, but the aircraft sustained substantial damage. Instrument meteorological conditions prevailed at the time and no flight plan was filed for the intended destination of Boulder, Colorado. There was not report of an ELT activation.

The pilot reported that he had attempted to fly to Boulder, Colorado, in order to deliver his aircraft to a mechanic who was planning on completing an annual inspection. He turned back because the weather deteriorated, but upon arriving back at Laramie found the weather had deteriorated there also. While trying to land in snow, low ceilings, and obscured visibility, the pilot came in with excessive airspeed and touched down long. The pilot stated that he was unable to stop the airplane before it ran off the end of the runway. After departing the runway, the aircraft collided with a fence, and nosed over as it rolled through a ditch. The pilot later reported that he estimated the visibility to be about one-quarter mile at the time of the landing.