Incident Overview
A pilot was performing a circling landing maneuver after executing an NDB (Non-Directional Beacon) approach to Runway 18. During the circling pattern, a passenger became sick. The pilot continued the pattern and turned onto the base leg at a speed of 140 knots.
Flight Details
While on the base leg, the pilot reported experiencing a sudden downdraft. He applied maximum power in an attempt to counteract the descent. Despite this, the airplane continued to sink in a level attitude and struck the ground approximately one-quarter mile northeast of the airport.
Additional complications arose from the pilot's difficulty in distinguishing between the grass and concrete surfaces of the runways. This visual confusion may have affected his situational awareness during the approach.
Circumstances
The accident occurred in winter weather conditions. A local resident living approximately two miles from the airport reported that a snow blizzard was in progress at the time of the incident. The pilot's report of a downdraft aligns with the presence of such severe winter weather, which can generate turbulent wind patterns near the ground.
Witness Report
The local resident's account of a snow blizzard corroborates the challenging weather environment. No other witnesses or official weather observations at the airport were specified in the investigation source.
The sequence of events—passenger illness, high-speed base turn, sudden downdraft, and difficulty differentiating runways—painted a complex picture of the accident. However, the investigation did not assign a probable cause.