Aircraft Nosed Over After Veering Off Runway Into Soft Sand (N2453A)

Accident Description and Pilot Report After landing on a runway measuring 6,799 feet in length and 150 feet in width, the aircraft veered to the right into soft sand and nosed over. The student pilot stated that the landing on the main landing gear was good. She lowered the nosewheel to the runway and was rolling smoothly when the aircraft suddenly veered to the right. She applied left rudder but was unable to prevent the aircraft from leaving the runway. It rolled about 150 feet into the soft sand before nosing over. The pilot suspected that an unseen dust devil may have been involved. ## Weather Observations An automated weather observation taken 16 minutes before the accident reported a left-rear, quartering surface wind at 4 knots. Forty-four minutes after the accident, the surface wind was reported as a left crosswind at 3 knots.