Event SEA00LA184

Factual narrative

On September 8, 2000, at 1800 mountain daylight time, a Mooney M20L, N1024Z, registered to and operated by the commercial pilot as a 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight, was substantially damaged as a result of a hard landing at the Friedman Memorial airport, Hailey, Idaho. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time and no flight plan was filed. The pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured. The flight originated from Newberg, Oregon, about two hours prior to the accident. The pilot reported that he was setting up for a landing on runway 31. The pilot stated that this airport is his home base and he is aware of the "rather swirly" winds at the south end of runway 31. While on final approach, he was using the VASI system for his glide path, and his airspeed was 80 to 85 knots. A crosswind condition existed and he was crabbing the airplane into the wind. The pilot stated that as he approached the approach end of the runway, "the wind suddenly and quite abruptly stopped and my airspeed dropped..." The airplane descended in altitude and landed hard about 30 yards short of the runway. The landing gear sheared off and the wings sustained substantial damage. At 1745, the airport surface weather was reporting the wind from 250 degrees at 10 knots. On September 26, 2000, a Federal Aviation Administration Airworthiness Inspector from the Boise, Idaho, Flight Standards District Office inspected the damage to the aircraft. The inspector reported to the Safety Board that the aircraft was substantially damaged. The pilot reported no mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane at the time of the accident. The pilot reported that while on final approach for landing, a crosswind condition existed. The pilot was making corrections for the wind, when 'the wind suddenly and quite abruptly stopped and my airspeed dropped...' The airplane descended in altitude and landed hard about 30 yards short of the runway. The landing gear sheared off and the wings sustained substantial damage. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12