Maule M-7-260C N721H accident near Cumming, Georgia

Probable cause

The pilot's failure to maintain directional control during an aborted landing. Contributing to the accident were the gusty crosswind conditions.

NTSB analysis

According to the pilot of the Maule M-7-260C, he attempted a landing on runway 21 after a "normal pattern approach." He made a crosswind correction on final approach, and at touchdown, encountered a windshear that caused the airplane to balloon 20 to 25 feet at "near zero" forward groundspeed. The pilot attempted to go around, but the crosswind shift blew the airplane into hangars bordering the left side of the runway. The pilot further noted that he couldn't regain lateral control when the wind shifted to a right crosswind, and that if he had allowed the airplane to descend from the balloon height with only a partial application of power to soften the landing, he might not have been blown into the hangars. The pilot did not report any mechanical anomalies with the airplane. Runway 21 was 1,800 feet long and 35 feet wide. Winds, recorded at an airport 12 nautical miles to the southeast about the time of the accident, were from 280 degrees at 16, gusting to 26 knots.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for NYC08CA096 for the full record.