C182 pilot reports a runway excursion during a crosswind landing; causing minor damage to aircraft.

Attributes
ACN	816129
Time
Date	200812
Local Time Of Day	0601 To 1200
Place
Locale Reference	airport : zzz.airport
State Reference	US
Altitude	agl single value : 0
Environment
Flight Conditions	VMC
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Operator	general aviation : personal
Make Model Name	Skylane 182/RG Turbo Skylane/RG
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 91
Flight Phase	landing : roll ground : maintenance
Flight Plan	IFR
Person 1
Affiliation	other
Function	flight crew : single pilot
Qualification	pilot : instrument pilot : private
Experience	flight time last 90 days : 26.5 flight time total : 374.5 flight time type : 24.5
ASRS Report	816129
Events
Anomaly	excursion : runway inflight encounter : weather other anomaly
Independent Detector	other flight crewa
Resolutory Action	flight crew : regained aircraft control
Consequence	other
Supplementary
Problem Areas	Flight Crew Human Performance Weather
Primary Problem	Flight Crew Human Performance

Narrative:

I did not maintain directional control upon landing. Runway heading was 260 degrees; wind was 330 degrees at 13 kts gusting to 19 kts. Upon touchdown; my right main touched down first; as it should with this particular crosswind. Upon my left main touching down; the plane took an immediate left turn. I attempted to gain control to bring the plane to the right and back to the center of the runway. The plane felt as though the turn would be excessive and tip over to the left. I observed the infield -- long and flat -- with only 1 obstruction -- the kilo taxiway sign. I almost missed it; but no loss of gear of other damage. I brought the plane to a controlled stop on an access road; discussed briefly with the ATC controller; got out and observed the plane. No personal injuries. Plane had some skin and wheel fairing damage. Cause: failure to maintain aircraft control on crosswind landing. Actions: have instructor go up with me again to be sure I am doing landings correctly. Considerations: 1 hour delay getting off; heavy frost to sweep away. Poor sleep the night before. I felt the safer thing to do was proceed through the infield versus tipping the plane.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: C182 pilot reports a runway excursion during a crosswind landing; causing minor damage to aircraft.

Narrative: I did not maintain directional control upon landing. Runway heading was 260 degrees; wind was 330 degrees at 13 kts gusting to 19 kts. Upon touchdown; my right main touched down first; as it should with this particular crosswind. Upon my left main touching down; the plane took an immediate left turn. I attempted to gain control to bring the plane to the right and back to the center of the runway. The plane felt as though the turn would be excessive and tip over to the left. I observed the infield -- long and flat -- with only 1 obstruction -- the Kilo Taxiway sign. I almost missed it; but no loss of gear of other damage. I brought the plane to a controlled stop on an access road; discussed briefly with the ATC Controller; got out and observed the plane. No personal injuries. Plane had some skin and wheel fairing damage. Cause: Failure to maintain aircraft control on crosswind landing. Actions: Have instructor go up with me again to be sure I am doing landings correctly. Considerations: 1 hour delay getting off; heavy frost to sweep away. Poor sleep the night before. I felt the safer thing to do was proceed through the infield versus tipping the plane.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of May 2009 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.