What happened
The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.
On November 18, 2023, the pilot of an experimental PA-18 type home-built Kase Kub took off from wolf lake strip (4AK6) after a condition inspection. The aircraft headed to wasilla airport (paws), where two stop-and-go landings were performed. The pilot then flew to Big Lake Airport (pagq) and attempted a landing without checking the automated weather reporting. The pilot was uncertain about the snow's depth, estimating it to be shallow due to the light covering observed and reported at other nearby airports, which were also hard-packed. Upon touchdown, the aircraft's wheels sank into the deep snow-covered runway, causing it to flip nose over. The rudder, vertical stabilizer, empennage, and propeller were all damaged. The pilot was counseled on proper airport planning along with checking weather and runway conditions before attempting landings.
As the FAA filed it
ON NOVEMBER 18, 2023, THE PILOT OF AN EXPERIMENTAL PA-18 TYPE HOME-BUILT KASE KUB TOOK OFF FROM WOLF LAKE STRIP (4AK6) AFTER A CONDITION INSPECTION. THE AIRCRAFT HEADED TO WASILLA AIRPORT (PAWS), WHERE TWO STOP-AND-GO LANDINGS WERE PERFORMED. THE PILOT THEN FLEW TO BIG LAKE AIRPORT (PAGQ) AND ATTEMPTED A LANDING WITHOUT CHECKING THE AUTOMATED WEATHER REPORTING. THE PILOT WAS UNCERTAIN ABOUT THE SNOW'S DEPTH, ESTIMATING IT TO BE SHALLOW DUE TO THE LIGHT COVERING OBSERVED AND REPORTED AT OTHER NEARBY AIRPORTS, WHICH WERE ALSO HARD-PACKED. UPON TOUCHDOWN, THE AIRCRAFT'S WHEELS SANK INTO THE DEEP SNOW-COVERED RUNWAY, CAUSING IT TO FLIP NOSE OVER. THE RUDDER, VERTICAL STABILIZER, EMPENNAGE, AND PROPELLER WERE ALL DAMAGED. THE PILOT WAS COUNSELED ON PROPER AIRPORT PLANNING ALONG WITH CHECKING WEATHER AND RUNWAY CONDITIONS BEFORE ATTEMPTING LANDINGS.
NTSB investigation
The NTSB’s investigation of this event, with its probable cause and findings. Matched to this report by N-number and date.