What happened
The incident occurred while the pilot was conducting a low pass over a private airport. At the time, there was a quartering crosswind reported at 10 knots, with gusts reaching up to 15 knots. Fresh cut hay had been windrowed along the edge of the runway strip.
During the maneuver, the aircraft's landing gear made contact with the surface and snagged on the hay. The force of the pass caused the hay to blow upward into the elevators. Subsequently, the aircraft touched down in the adjacent hay field, resulting in significant damage to the airframe.
The investigation
Examination of the event revealed that the physical interaction between the aircraft and the agricultural debris was the primary mechanism of failure. The wind conditions contributed to the hay being displaced into critical control surfaces during the contact phase.
Findings
Contributing factors included the presence of windrows of fresh cut hay at the edge of the strip and the specific flight path taken by the pilot. The quartering crosswind likely exacerbated the displacement of the debris, leading to the entanglement with the landing gear and subsequent damage upon touchdown.