NTSB Factual Report

On October 21, 2001, about 1130 Pacific daylight time, a Cessna A185E tail wheel equipped airplane, N7711L, nosed over following a loss of directional control during the landing roll at Winnemucca, Nevada. The airplane was registered to, and operated by, the pilot as a personal flight under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91. Neither the private pilot nor his passenger was injured. The airplane sustained substantial damage. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and a flight plan had not been filed. The local flight originated at Winnemucca approximately 1 hour prior to the accident, and was terminating at the time of the accident.

According to the pilot's written statement, during the landing roll on runway 32, the airplane swerved to the left causing the right wing to impact the ground. The pilot applied right rudder and brake, which straightened the airplane. The pilot indicated that braking resulted in the airplane nosing over and coming to rest inverted.

At 1156, the weather observation facility located at the airport reported that the wind was from 270 degrees at 7 knots with gusts to 15 knots.

The pilot had owned the same airplane for 30 years and had accumulated 1,570 hours of flight time in the airplane. The Federal Aviation Administration inspector stated that there were no mechanical malfunctions with the airplane.

NTSB Probable Cause

The pilot's inadequate compensation for the wind conditions, failure to maintain directional control and use of excessive braking, which resulted in the airplane nosing over.