Circumstances:
The aircraft departed for a local parachute dropping sortie. Thunderstorms had been forming to the south-west and north-west, the nearest being about 12 miles from the aerodrome. The surface wind for take-off was 340 degrees at 10 knots. During climb, the pilot was advised to abort the sortie due to increasing wind. On his return to the field, the windsock was indicating a consistent wind from 230 degrees at 20 knots. No turbulence or rain had been encountered during the descent to runway 23, until final approach, when increasingly severe turbulence was experienced together with light rain. At a height of about 100 feet, the pilot initiated a baulked approach using maximum cruise power with landing gear and flap retracted. The aircraft began to climb away normally but then experienced zero climb followed by heavy sink. The pilot increased power to maximum and adopted best angle of climb speed but was unable to prevent the aircraft from settling onto the ground. The pilot subsequently learnt that the aerodrome had been affected by sudden winds gusts estimated to be in the vicinity of 50 knots, resulting in substantial damage to parked aircraft and other objects.
