What happened
A commercial certificated pilot was operating a twin-engine, wheel-equipped airplane on a VFR positioning flight from an ocean island airport to a mainland airport. The flight departed at 1630 local time. By 1636, weather conditions at the destination airport had deteriorated to 1 statute mile visibility in light thunderstorms and rain, with winds of 10 knots and gusts up to 25 knots.
At 1653, during the landing phase, the weather had further declined to 1/2 statute mile visibility in heavy thunderstorms and rain, with winds of 6 knots and gusts to 25 knots. Records indicated that thunderstorms had been present in the area since 1613. During the landing roll, the aircraft veered off the runway and collided with a runway sign.
The investigation
An FAA inspector examined the aircraft following the accident. The inspection revealed that the collision caused the nose gear to collapse. As the nose gear failed, the propellers struck the ground, and the aircraft sustained structural damage to the fuselage. There were no injuries reported.