On July 12, 2003, a Cessna 150H (registration N22897) was involved in an aviation accident near Dyer, NV. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: the pilot's inadequate compensation for the gusting crosswind conditions and failure to maintain directional control. This summary draws on records from the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) historical archive.
A pilot lost control of the airplane during landing rollout after encountering a wind gust, causing it to swerve off the runway into sand and come to rest nose down.
Accident Overview
During the landing rollout phase, a wind gust was encountered, leading to the pilot losing control of the airplane. The airplane swerved off the runway and came to rest in sand in a nose-down attitude.
Pilot Narrative
The pilot reported that while approaching the home base airport, turbulence intensity was "approaching severe," and the wind was variable in direction and gusty. Upon landing and decelerating to between 40 and 45 miles per hour, the airplane experienced a very strong gust of wind from about 90 degrees left of the course. The pilot stated that control was lost when the airplane was "weather-vaned" off the runway and into the soft sand.