Incident Overview
The flight crew reported that after conducting an instrument landing system approach, the airplane encountered a strong wind gust during the landing flare. A go-around was initiated, but during the maneuver, the left tip tank struck the runway, resulting in substantial damage to the left wing. The crew subsequently diverted to another airport where weather conditions were more favorable, and upon landing, the damage to the left wing was discovered.
Weather Conditions
Around the time of the incident, the airport weather observation indicated wind from 300° at 15 knots, gusting to 20 knots. The calculated crosswind component was 18 knots. According to the airplane flight manual, the maximum demonstrated crosswind component was 24.7 knots.
Damage
The left wing sustained substantial damage due to the tip tank striking the runway during the go-around.