What happened
The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.
The day before the accident, the pilot added 24.5 gal of fuel and flew around the airport to perform some touch-n-go's. the passenger stated the day of the accident, they flew to his remote strip and had to clean ice out of the brake assembly before takeoff. Both the pilot and passenger cannot remember anything else about the flight except the passenger thought they were flying back home and possibly descending before the he found himself in the aircraft on the ground. The aircraft only flew about 3 miles from the remote strip to the accident location. It appears based upon photos received the right wing hit a tree which rotated the aircraft 180 degrees to the right than hit the ground nose down and slid backwards about 3 feet. Photos taken on scene and information received from a pilot on the search and rescue team, the engine was not at a high RPM by evidence of minimal propeller blade damage. The total flight time was around 3 hours.
As the FAA filed it
THE DAY BEFORE THE ACCIDENT, THE PILOT ADDED 24.5 GAL OF FUEL AND FLEW AROUND THE AIRPORT TO PERFORM SOME TOUCH-N-GO'S. THE PASSENGER STATED THE DAY OF THE ACCIDENT, THEY FLEW TO HIS REMOTE STRIP AND HAD TO CLEAN ICE OUT OF THE BRAKE ASSEMBLY BEFORE TAKEOFF. BOTH THE PILOT AND PASSENGER CANNOT REMEMBER ANYTHING ELSE ABOUT THE FLIGHT EXCEPT THE PASSENGER THOUGHT THEY WERE FLYING BACK HOME AND POSSIBLY DESCENDING BEFORE THE HE FOUND HIMSELF IN THE AIRCRAFT ON THE GROUND. THE AIRCRAFT ONLY FLEW ABOUT 3 MILES FROM THE REMOTE STRIP TO THE ACCIDENT LOCATION. IT APPEARS BASED UPON PHOTOS RECEIVED THE RIGHT WING HIT A TREE WHICH ROTATED THE AIRCRAFT 180 DEGREES TO THE RIGHT THAN HIT THE GROUND NOSE DOWN AND SLID BACKWARDS ABOUT 3 FEET. PHOTOS TAKEN ON SCENE AND INFORMATION RECEIVED FROM A PILOT ON THE SEARCH AND RESCUE TEAM, THE ENGINE WAS NOT AT A HIGH RPM BY EVIDENCE OF MINIMAL PROPELLER BLADE DAMAGE. THE TOTAL FLIGHT TIME WAS AROUND 3 HOURS.
NTSB investigation
The NTSB’s investigation of this event, with its probable cause and findings. Matched to this report by N-number and date.