What happened
The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.
Pilot was searching for a gravel bar to land on in a remote creek. Upon finding a suitable location he performed several low-level passes to assess the terrain. When landing, the tailwheel struck an unknown object forcing the main landing gear to impact the ground. The impact resulted in a collapse of the main landing gear and the propeller striking the ground.
As the FAA filed it
PILOT WAS SEARCHING FOR A GRAVEL BAR TO LAND ON IN A REMOTE CREEK. UPON FINDING A SUITABLE LOCATION HE PERFORMED SEVERAL LOW-LEVEL PASSES TO ASSESS THE TERRAIN. WHEN LANDING, THE TAILWHEEL STRUCK AN UNKNOWN OBJECT FORCING THE MAIN LANDING GEAR TO IMPACT THE GROUND. THE IMPACT RESULTED IN A COLLAPSE OF THE MAIN LANDING GEAR AND THE PROPELLER STRIKING THE GROUND.
NTSB investigation
The NTSB’s investigation of this event, with its probable cause and findings. Matched to this report by N-number and date.