What happened
The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.
(-23) Pilot departed jackson, MN on a VFR flight to his Private airstrip located approximately 8 NM west of the estherville, IA airport (EST). The night before he had cleared his Private strip of most of the snow;however, due to the roughness of the field, a few inches of snow remained. During the night, the snow had formed a crust. Upon touchdown, the right main wheel touched down on packed snow, while the left main wheel broke through the crust causing the aircraft to pull to the left. The pilot applied corrective action, but this caused the right main landing gear to move from the packed snow to some deeper crusted snow. The aircraft then swerved to the right into the snow piled along the edge of the runway. This caused the aircraft to continue into deeper snow. Eventually, the nose gear struck the unplowed edge of the runway, and the aircraft flipped over causing substantial damage. The pilot was counseled on his decision to land on the runway when he was unsure of the runway surface conditions. The pilot stated that he should have inspected the runway that morning, prior to attempting the landing. privacy data omitted
As the FAA filed it
(-23) PILOT DEPARTED JACKSON, MN ON A VFR FLIGHT TO HIS PRIVATE AIRSTRIP LOCATED APPROXIMATELY 8 NM WEST OF THE ESTHERVILLE, IA AIRPORT (EST). THE NIGHT BEFORE HE HAD CLEARED HIS PRIVATE STRIP OF MOST OF THE SNOW;HOWEVER, DUE TO THE ROUGHNESS OF THE FIELD, A FEW INCHES OF SNOW REMAINED. DURING THE NIGHT, THE SNOW HAD FORMED A CRUST. UPON TOUCHDOWN, THE RIGHT MAIN WHEEL TOUCHED DOWN ON PACKED SNOW, WHILE THE LEFT MAIN WHEEL BROKE THROUGH THE CRUST CAUSING THE AIRCRAFT TO PULL TO THE LEFT. THE PILOT APPLIED CORRECTIVE ACTION, BUT THIS CAUSED THE RIGHT MAIN LANDING GEAR TO MOVE FROM THE PACKED SNOW TO SOME DEEPER CRUSTED SNOW. THE AIRCRAFT THEN SWERVED TO THE RIGHT INTO THE SNOW PILED ALONG THE EDGE OF THE RUNWAY. THIS CAUSED THE AIRCRAFT TO CONTINUE INTO DEEPER SNOW. EVENTUALLY, THE NOSE GEAR STRUCK THE UNPLOWED EDGE OF THE RUNWAY, AND THE AIRCRAFT FLIPPED OVER CAUSING SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE. THE PILOT WAS COUNSELED ON HIS DECISION TO LAND ON THE RUNWAY WHEN HE WAS UNSURE OF THE RUNWAY SURFACE CONDITIONS. THE PILOT STATED THAT HE SHOULD HAVE INSPECTED THE RUNWAY THAT MORNING, PRIOR TO ATTEMPTING THE LANDING. ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED
NTSB investigation
The NTSB’s investigation of this event, with its probable cause and findings. Matched to this report by N-number and date.