NTSB Factual Report

On May 17, 2003, approximately 1120 mountain daylight time, a Cessna 182J, N3450F, registered to and being flown by a private pilot, sustained substantial damage during a loss of control, nose gear collapse and subsequent nose over, while landing on runway 31, at the Payette Municipal airport, Payette, Idaho. The pilot and pilot rated passenger were uninjured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan had been filed. The flight, which was personal, was operated under 14CFR91, and originated from Cascade, Idaho, approximately 1045.

The pilot reported to an FAA inspector that the aircraft touched down close to the threshold/right side of the 3,000-foot long by 50-foot wide runway and the aircraft immediately began drifting right. The aircraft left the runway surface but tracked parallel to the runway on sandy soil along the runway's northeast edge. As the aircraft decelerated over about 1,000 feet of roll the nose wheel dug in and eventually folded aft, and the aircraft nosed over. During the landing roll the aircraft also impacted a runway light. The pilot reported that there was no mechanical malfunction with the aircraft, and winds at Ontario, Oregon, shortly after the accident and located approximately 7 nautical miles south-southwest were reported from 240 degrees magnetic at 11 knots gusting to 16 knots.

The pilot later reported (refer to attached NTSB Form 6120.1) that he "...should have made a go around decision when [the] airplane started to drift toward the right edge of [the] runway...."

NTSB Probable Cause

The pilot-in-command's failure to maintain directional control during the landing roll resulting in the aircraft departing the runway environment, collapsing the nose gear and nosing over. Contributing factors were the pilot-in-command's failure to execute a go around maneuver, the gusty crosswind conditions and the soft terrain.