During a cross-country flight the pilot said he listened to the automated weather report a few miles west of his destination and noted crosswinds at 17 knots, gusting to 20 knots. The pilot continued the approach to landing and reported the touchdown was "uneventful," but during the landing roll a gust of wind rotated the nose 90 degrees into the crosswind. Subsequently, the airplane departed the runway surface and impacted a ditch adjacent to the runway, causing the nose wheel to collapse. The pilot reported no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

Examination of the airplane revealed substantial damage to the engine firewall.