While maneuvering in mountainous terrain about 700 feet above ground level near Moriarty, N.M., the GlaStar encountered “an extreme clear-air [sic] microburst.”
The pilot was unable to control the descent rate and executed an off-airport landing.
During the landing, the nose gear collapsed and the airplane nosed over.
The airplane sustained substantial damage to the vertical stabilizer and both wings.
Post-accident examination of the airplane revealed no evidence of mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation.
Probable cause: The inadvertent encounter with a microburst while maneuvering near mountainous terrain, which resulted in a off-airport landing and impact with terrain.
NTSB Identification: CEN15CA218
This May 2015 accident report is provided by the National Transportation Safety Board. Published as an educational tool, it is intended to help pilots learn from the misfortunes of others.
Hmmm….a clear-air microburst? What were the prevailing surface winds? Could this mysterious downdraft have been the product of leeward surface winds.
Of course it was! Have you ever been on the ground and noticed the wind coming from overhead? Neither have I. Real micro bursts, down drafts or terrain induced down drafts don’t blow all the way to ground level there’s always a “cushion” of air at low level where it spreads out. What gets the airplane in trouble is a nose high attitude at low speed when it encounters the wind direction shift, especially a tail wind. The answer is when encountering a down draft don’t try to fight it by raising the nose to maintain altitude for more than a few seconds. If you’re not out of it pretty quickly stop fighting it! If its a serious down draft LOWER THE NOSE to gain airspeed and fly out of it. You may get really low, especially in mountainous terrain and maybe even tree top height, but you wont get blown into the ground.