Maule MX7 N3035M

Summary

On 30 April 2017 at about 18:30 local time, a Maule MX7 registered N3035M was involved in an accident near Floydada, Texas, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

30 April 2017 at 18:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Floydada, Texas, United States

Nearest airport

Floydada Muni (41F)

Coordinates

34.0017, -101.3303

Aircraft

Maule MX7

Registration

N3035M

Category

Airplane

Year built

1993

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Positioning

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Sherman/Denison → Floydada

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

GAA17CA252

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's decision to fly into and land at an area of known widespread high gusting wind, which resulted in a nose-over.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot of the tailwheel-equipped airplane reported that he was moving the airplane across the country for a friend and had multiple refueling stops along his route. He added that, on his first attempt to land on the asphalt runway, he conducted a go-around due to the strong crosswind, and during the subsequent approach, he landed in the grass next to the asphalt runway to touch down with a gusting headwind. Once stopped in the grass with the engine running, he radioed over the common traffic advisory frequency to ask for assistance to tie down the airplane, but after 5 to 10 minutes, no one had responded. He added, "suddenly" a wind gust lifted the left wing, and the airplane corkscrewed clockwise and nosed over. The right and left wing lift struts sustained substantial damage. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot reported that the wind was from 330° at 30 knots, gusting to 40 knots at the time of the accident. An automated weather observation station (AWOS), 22 nautical miles (nm) northwest from the accident site, recorded that, about the time of the accident, the wind was from 320° at 29 knots, gusting to 42 knots. Another AWOS, 32 nm southwest from the accident site, recorded that, about the time of the accident, the wind was from 320° at 29 knots, gusting to 43 knots. A review of the recorded hourly weather observations from the two AWOSs revealed that, from about 30 minutes before the pilot departed to 1 hour after the accident time, the wind remained consistent from the northwest about 30 knots, gusting to 38 to 46 knots. The pilot reported that he had on-board weather capability.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.