N15PRPiper PA-31-350 · 1983

The airline transport pilot departed on a visual flight rules cross-country flight, in a twin-engine airplane, with two passengers aboard. During the flight, he reported that the weather began changing, and he arrived at the destination airport in deteriorating weather conditions. Unable to circle to land into the wind, he elected to land on runway 12 in gusting wind conditions, requiring a correction for a quartering right tailwind. During the landing roll, a wind gust pushed the nose of the airplane to the right, and the airplane began to slide momentary on an icy patch on the runway. While sliding sideways, the left main landing gear then contacted bare pavement, which loaded the left main landing gear strut, resulting in the collapse of the left main landing gear. As a result, the airplane sustained substantial damage to the left wing.

Winds at the airport prior to landing were reported as 339 degrees magnetic at 26 knots, with gusts to 35 knots. According to the pilot operating handbook for the accident airplane, the maximum demonstrated crosswind component for the airplane is 20 knots, and a plot of the current wind conditions at the time of the accident showed that the crosswind component for the accident landing was 30 knots, 10 knots above the maximum demonstrated component.

No preaccident mechanical anomalies were reported.