Incident
While on short final approach to runway 19 at Big Creek Airport in Idaho, the pilot reported that the airplane encountered a downdraft. This resulted in a sudden descent from approximately 15 feet above the ground, leading to a hard landing. The impact bent the nose gear forward and damaged the firewall. Big Creek Airport is a remote mountain airfield with a turf runway.
Flight After Repair
The pilot performed a field repair, lashing the nose wheel strut back using rope and a come-along attached to the main landing gear. The pilot then flew the airplane to McCall, Idaho, a flight of about 30 minutes. At McCall, a mechanic assessed the damage and advised the pilot not to continue the flight. Despite this recommendation, the pilot decided to proceed to his home base at Minden-Tahoe Airport, Nevada, approximately 454 miles southwest of McCall.
Weather and Density Altitude
The elevation of Big Creek Airport is 5,743 feet mean sea level. The pilot reported the outside air temperature at the time of the accident as 80 degrees Fahrenheit (26.6 degrees Celsius). At 1350, the weather observation at McCall Airport indicated winds from 210 degrees at 11 knots, visibility of 8 statute miles, temperature 26 degrees Celsius, dew point 5 degrees Celsius, and an altimeter setting of 30.05 inches of mercury. Based on these conditions, the calculated density altitude at Big Creek was 8,238 feet mean sea level.