On June 12, 1997, at 1145 hours mountain standard time, a Maule M-6-235, N5653C, ground looped on landing at a private airstrip near Salome, Arizona. The aircraft was owned and operated by the pilot and was on a local area personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time and no flight plan was filed. The aircraft sustained substantial damage. The airline transport pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured. The flight is believed to have originated at Salome on the morning of the accident at an undetermined time. In a verbal statement to Federal Aviation Administration inspectors from the Scottsdale, Arizona, Flight Standards District Office, the pilot reported that he was landing on runway 27 when a strong crosswind gust from the southwest came up and the aircraft ground looped. The pilot estimated the winds at the time as from 200 degrees at 20 knots with occasional gusts to 30. The pilot did not respond to repeated requests to complete a pilot/operator aircraft accident report.