Cessna 182M N71074 accident near Los Alamos, New Mexico

Probable cause

The pilot’s failure to maintain airplane control while landing in gusty crosswind conditions.

NTSB analysis

The pilot reported that while monitoring his destination airport’s automated weather report during a local flight he discovered that the wind had was initially from 180° at 7 knots but had increased to 11 knots with gusts to 18 knots.

The pilot selected runway 27 for landing, and during final approach, encountered turbulence along with a fluctuation in airspeed of plus or minus 10 miles per hour, which he attributed to possible low-level wind shear. When about 50 ft above ground level, the pilot heard the stall warning horn while in a nose down attitude. The pilot stated that he focused on solely on airspeed and failed to maintain appropriate crosswind correction, as wind gusts pushed the airplane towards the left side of the runway. The pilot was unable to recover from the uncommanded movement and the airplane touched down on or near the left edge of the runway beyond the runway threshold. The airplane crossed the grassy area between the runway and taxiway, struck a taxiway curb and the nose landing gear collapsed, which resulted in substantial damage to the fuselage.

The pilot reported no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for WPR25LA076 for the full record.