Cessna 172

Full Narrative

The private pilot reported that he checked aviation weather services and an automated weather broadcast before departing with a passenger on a local sightseeing flight. As the flight was returning to land, the pilot listened to the automated weather broadcast at a local airport to confirm wind direction and speed. The destination airport windsock was not operational. The broadcasted weather indicated there would be a left quartering headwind, and the wave direction on the surface of the lake surrounding the airport corroborated this wind condition. The pilot stated that the wind was gusty, but he was able to touch down smoothly on the runway. The airplane encountered a "strong" wind gust from the right side, and the airplane headed left towards a ditch. The pilot increased the throttle to perform an aborted landing. The airplane gained altitude and avoided impacting the ditch, a parked airplane, and a fence. However, the wing struck a small tree, and the airplane "flipped" at that point and sustained substantial fuselage and wing damage. The pilot stated there was no mechanical malfunction/failure of the airplane during the flight.