Piper PA-28-140 Cherokee, G-BYCA, 15 August 2008
Piper PA-28-140 Cherokee, G-BYCA
Summary:
During the approach to Runway 26 there was no drift and the aircraft landed without any problems. The aircraft was then subjected to a large gust of wind that caused it to yaw to the left which the pilot tried to counteract with right rudder. Unable to keep the rudder applied the aircraft yawed back to the left. As she reapplied the right rudder the aircraft snaked down the runway with an ever increasing frequency. The aircraft then abruptly yawed left through 90 degrees and departed the runway. As it left the paved surface the nosewheel went over a shallow drainage ditch on the edge of the runway. The nosewheel collapsed and the propeller struck the ground shock loading the engine. The aircraft came to rest about 10-15 m off the runway. The aircraft was damaged beyond economical repair. The pilot added that while the aircraft had a 17 kt crosswind limit, due to here small physique she can lack the physical strength to hold the rudder in a strong crosswind landing. An aftercast provided by the Met Office estimated that the surface wind was 190º-200º/15 kt gusting 20-25 kt. This equates to approximately a 17 kt crosswind component.
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