Incident Overview
On July 7, 2023, at approximately 1451 eastern daylight time, a Cessna 182Q, registration N759HD, was substantially damaged during a landing event at Richmond Executive-Chesterfield County Airport (FCI) near Richmond, Virginia. The private pilot and one passenger were not injured. The flight was conducted as a personal flight under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91.
Pilot's Account
The pilot reported that the morning before the flights, he obtained and extensively reviewed weather products, including METARs, Terminal Area Forecasts, and Daily Forecasts for all intended airports. For the first flight, he performed a standard preflight inspection with a checklist and completed two separate, uneventful flights. After landing at each airport, he obtained abbreviated weather briefing data.
Before departing on the accident flight, the pilot requested and received an IFR clearance from Ingalls Field Airport (HSP), Hot Springs, Virginia, to FCI. The flight departed, and prior to arrival, he cancelled his IFR clearance and proceeded under VFR while performing a practice RNAV approach to runway 15.
The pilot stated that he made a straight-in approach, adding one notch of flaps when arriving at the final approach fix (FAF). He did not recall if he added another notch of flaps at the decision height (DH). He typically maintains 90 knots until DH and then gradually slows to 70 knots until landing. During ground effect, winds were 5 to 10 knots with no turbulence, and at least one notch of flaps was extended.
During the flare to land, the airplane abruptly pitched up without command, then nosed down, bouncing the airplane off the nose. The pilot added full throttle to abort the landing and climbed to traffic pattern altitude. He did not recall hearing the stall warning horn. He performed a right turn instead of a left turn due to a rain cloud on the left side of the runway. He remained in right traffic for runway 15, and when preparing to flare, a wind gust pushed the airplane across the runway. He performed another go-around, then made standard left traffic for runway 15. The pilot landed uneventfully and taxied to the ramp.
Postaccident Examination
A Federal Aviation Administration airworthiness inspector examined the airplane. The nose landing gear was partially attached to the firewall and pushed forward away from it at an angle; the bottom mounting points were broken. The floor by the rudder pedals was wrinkled, and the rudder torque tube was bent. No discrepancies were found with the aileron, rudder, or elevator primary flight controls. Rudder and elevator trims were neutral.
Weather Conditions
Archived wind information was not available from the accident airport. Wind at an airport about 11 nautical miles northeast, about 3 minutes after the accident, was from 230° at 8 knots. A convective SIGMET was issued for the accident airport area at 1255, about 44 minutes before the accident flight departed. The SIGMET implied updrafts and downdrafts, severe or greater turbulence, severe icing, and low-level wind shear. It indicated a developing line of thunderstorms with tops to 42,000 ft. Weather radar showed thunderstorms and rain showers around the area, including near the accident airport. Radar data from 1230, about 1 hour 9 minutes before departure, revealed thunderstorms and associated convective weather.