N185MN

On March 30, 1999, at 1300 eastern standard time, a Cessna 185, N185MN, veered off runway 3, during a landing at the Hilton Head Airport in Hilton Head, South Carolina. The personal flight was operated by the pilot under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91 with no flight plan filed. Visual weather conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The commercial pilot and three passengers were not injured; the airplane sustained substantial damage. The flight departed Apex, North Carolina, at 1015.

The pilot stated that before departing, he telephoned Carolina Air Service on Hilton Head Island and received current weather information. The pilot also watched the Weather Channel and received additional weather information for his planned destination. According to the pilot, after an uneventful flight, he established an approach for the north runway at Hilton Head Island. The prevailing winds were out of the northeast at 15 knots. The approach and landing were made with twenty degrees of wing flaps. According to the pilot, the airplane touched down in the center of the runway on the main landing gear. As the tail wheel started down, the pilot reported that "a significant gust of wind" raised the right wing and instantly rotated the airplane 35 degrees to the right. The airplane veered off the right side of the runway and collided with a concrete culvert

No mechanical problems with the airplane were reported by the pilot. A review of existing weather data disclosed that surface winds were approximately 180 degrees at 14 knots with gusts to 24 knots.