Incident Overview
During a night landing, a pilot experienced a sequence of events that resulted in a ground loop, causing structural damage to the aircraft. The pilot had obtained weather information from the automated surface observation system (ASOS) prior to the approach, which reported winds from 280 degrees and 250 degrees at 5 knots.
Approach and Landing
The pilot set up for a landing on runway 31 with full flaps (40 degrees). To compensate for the crosswind, the pilot held the airplane in a slight left crab. During the landing flare, the pilot stated that he leveled off "a little high" and subsequently lost sight of the runway. As the airplane touched down, it swerved to the left side of the runway.
Go-Around Attempt
In response to the swerve, the pilot added power to initiate a go-around. The airplane became briefly airborne, but the pilot reported becoming disoriented because of the "dark mountain ahead." The pilot then aborted the go-around attempt. During the aborted go-around, the airplane departed the right side of the runway and ground-looped.
Damage
The ground-loop resulted in the buckling of the left wing, collapse of the left main landing gear, and separation of the tail wheel.
Pilot Statement
The pilot provided the account of the events, including the use of full flaps, crosswind correction, the loss of visual reference during flare, and the disorientation during the go-around. No other individuals or agencies are mentioned in the report as making statements regarding this incident.