Primary finding
Probable cause
Inadequate in flight planning/decision. Factors to the accident were: unsuitable terrain was selected, rough/uneven terrain and a go around was not performed.
Investigator assessment
Analysis narrative
At the end of a cross country flight, the pilot reported that he was intending to land on a private airstrip that he had not been into before. The day before the flight, the pilot had contacted the owner for directions and the condition of the strip. When the flight arrived, the pilot found an area that looked like what the owner had described. The pilot noted that the field looked wet, so a soft field landing was initiated. While on short final, the pilot noted that the surface was very rough. The airplane touched down and was almost stopped when the nose wheel bounced on a mound of dirt. When the nose wheel contacted the surface, it sunk into the soft soil and the airplane nosed over. Later, the pilot found out that the area where he had landed was, in fact, not the airstrip, but a construction site for a railroad operation.
Source record
Factual narrative
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