What happened
The pilot initiated a precautionary landing after encountering fog conditions during the en route portion of the flight. Initial attempts to land were made on runway 24; however, two approaches to this runway were aborted due to gusting winds that made the landing unsafe.
Following the aborted approaches, the pilot elected to make a downwind approach to runway 06. As the aircraft descended below the height of the surrounding trees, the prevailing tailwind was blanked out by the terrain. This sudden change in wind conditions contributed to the aircraft losing airspeed and energy. The aircraft subsequently landed short of the runway while in a full stall condition.
The investigation
The investigation focused on the flight path and weather conditions at the time of the accident. Key findings included the presence of fog en route, gusting winds affecting the initial approaches to runway 24, and the specific aerodynamic effect of the tailwind being blanked out as the aircraft descended below the tree line during the downwind approach to runway 06.
Findings
The primary factors leading to the accident were the pilot's decision to continue a downwind approach in marginal weather conditions and the subsequent loss of airspeed due to wind shear effects. The blanking out of the tailwind as the aircraft descended below the surrounding terrain played a critical role in the stall.