What happened
The flight proceeded as planned until the pilot reached the vicinity of the destination airport. Approximately 20 nautical miles south of the airport, the pilot received weather updates indicating winds from the west at 23 knots, gusting to 30 knots.
Initially cleared to land on runway 16R, the pilot was instructed by air traffic control to perform a go-around due to inbound jet traffic. The pilot was subsequently cleared to land on runway 16L. During the landing on runway 16L, the aircraft's indicated airspeed was 70 knots with 20 degrees of flaps extended. As the aircraft rolled down the runway, the airspeed increased by 10 to 15 knots.
After rolling 300 feet down the runway, a wind gust struck the aircraft, pushing it toward the left side of the runway. Although the pilot attempted corrective action, the airplane impacted a runway sign located approximately 6 to 10 feet from the runway edge. The impact caused the nose gear to collapse, and the aircraft slid to a stop. There were no injuries reported.
The investigation
The investigation focused on the structural damage sustained during the excursion. The impact with the runway sign resulted in damage to the firewall and the left wing spar attach point. No mechanical problems were reported prior to the event.