On August 14, 1997, at 1600 hours mountain standard time, a Cessna 185, N1023F, landed alongside a private runway and hit a mesquite tree near Buckeye, Arizona. The aircraft sustained substantial damage and the commercial pilot was not injured. The airplane was operated by the pilot as a personal flight under 14 CFR Part 91 when the accident occurred. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and a VFR flight plan was not filed. The pilot told the Federal Aviation Administration that he was landing to the left side of the runway in order to miss a badger hole. The pilot said he "went over too much" so that when he flared for landing the left wing hit some branches of a mesquite tree. This caused the airplane to spin around about 45 degrees to the left and the aircraft slid sideways, thus damaging the right wing and breaking the right landing gear. According to the pilot, the airplane came to rest approximately 35 yards from the initial impact with the mesquite tree.