Narrative:

I was conducting a VFR arrival via a left hand pattern to runway 20 at wvi in my cessna jet. During the turn to final we encountered windshear strong enough to threaten the controllability of the aircraft. A go-around maneuver was initiated which begins by leveling the wings; the application of full power; and an aggressive nose pitch-up. At this point in the flight; we're 100% heads-down monitoring airspeed; angle-of-attack; pitch; and climb rate until the aircraft has reestablished a safe airspeed and climb rate. A second VFR pattern terminated in a normal landing.only as I was climbing through 1500 ft MSL and well south of the airport was I fully aware that my flight path had taken me directly through the recently established parachute landing area / drop zone. Because the windshear was encountered near the completion of the turn to final; and 'wings level' is one of the first steps in a windshear recovery; the resulting heading of approximately 230 degrees magnetic set me right on a collision course for the drop zone. The 20+ degrees nose-up attitude used during windshear recovery severely reduces forward visibility; and the low airspeed following the windshear eliminated any chance of maneuvering to avoid parachutes had I been able to see them. I would emphasize that the particular set of circumstance left me with no choice but to fly through the drop zone 'blind'. Even if I was aware of jumpers in the air; there was no other outcome that would have maintained control of the aircraft without passing through the drop zone.although windshear encounters are rare at watsonville; VFR go-arounds including the 'right' side-step maneuver are not; in particular they are common during student training as well as due to aircraft-aircraft conflicts during busy times.I was lucky that skydiving operations were not in [progress] at the time. The location of the current drop zone at the watsonville airport is in direct conflict with the VFR pattern for the calm-wind runway (rwy 20) and in direct conflict with the IFR missed approach for the lowest-minimums approach (RNAV rwy 2). I concur that parachute operations belong on the airfield; but there are plenty of safer locations on the field. We should not wait until an accident to rectify this problem.I believe the flight crew executed an appropriate and timely response to the windshear by initiating a go-around; with an emphasis on aircraft control and terrain avoidance. It is possible that the landing could have been salvaged; but a complicating factor was a crosswind from the east blowing the aircraft further west into the drop zone. The location of the drop zone is in conflict with the VFR pattern for the calm wind runway 20.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A Cessna jet pilot reported flying through the newly established parachute drop zone at WVI following a windshear encounter. Reporter recommended the drop zone should be moved to a different location in the airfield.

Narrative: I was conducting a VFR arrival via a left hand pattern to Runway 20 at WVI in my Cessna jet. During the turn to final we encountered windshear strong enough to threaten the controllability of the aircraft. A go-around maneuver was initiated which begins by leveling the wings; the application of full power; and an aggressive nose pitch-up. At this point in the flight; we're 100% heads-down monitoring airspeed; angle-of-attack; pitch; and climb rate until the aircraft has reestablished a safe airspeed and climb rate. A second VFR pattern terminated in a normal landing.Only as I was climbing through 1500 ft MSL and well south of the airport was I fully aware that my flight path had taken me directly through the recently established parachute landing area / drop zone. Because the windshear was encountered near the completion of the turn to final; and 'wings level' is one of the first steps in a windshear recovery; the resulting heading of approximately 230 degrees magnetic set me right on a collision course for the drop zone. The 20+ degrees nose-up attitude used during windshear recovery severely reduces forward visibility; and the low airspeed following the windshear eliminated any chance of maneuvering to avoid parachutes had I been able to see them. I would emphasize that the particular set of circumstance left me with no choice but to fly through the drop zone 'blind'. Even if I was aware of jumpers in the air; there was no other outcome that would have maintained control of the aircraft without passing through the drop zone.Although windshear encounters are rare at Watsonville; VFR go-arounds including the 'right' side-step maneuver are not; in particular they are common during student training as well as due to aircraft-aircraft conflicts during busy times.I was lucky that skydiving operations were not in [progress] at the time. The location of the current drop zone at the Watsonville Airport is in direct conflict with the VFR pattern for the calm-wind runway (Rwy 20) and in direct conflict with the IFR missed approach for the lowest-minimums approach (RNAV Rwy 2). I concur that parachute operations belong on the airfield; but there are plenty of safer locations on the field. We should not wait until an accident to rectify this problem.I believe the flight crew executed an appropriate and timely response to the windshear by initiating a go-around; with an emphasis on aircraft control and terrain avoidance. It is possible that the landing could have been salvaged; but a complicating factor was a crosswind from the east blowing the aircraft further west into the drop zone. The location of the drop zone is in conflict with the VFR pattern for the calm wind Runway 20.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.