Nosewheel separation after runway excursion during crosswind landing (N4182L)

What happened

During an approach for landing in a right crosswind condition, the airplane deviated to the right side of the runway. The aircraft left the paved surface and entered an adjacent grass area. The pilot elected to abort the initial landing attempt and initiated a go-around. A second landing was attempted under similar conditions, which resulted in the same lateral deviation off the runway onto the grass. During the subsequent ground roll across the turf, the airplane collided with the edge of an intersecting runway. This impact caused structural failure of the nose landing gear assembly.

The investigation

Examination of the aircraft revealed that the nosewheel had been detached from the airframe. The damage was consistent with a high-energy collision with a hard surface, specifically the concrete or asphalt edge of the intersecting runway encountered after leaving the main runway pavement.