Flight Details
A certified flight instructor (CFI) and a student pilot departed on a round-robin cross-country flight, with a planned soft field landing at David City, Nebraska. Upon arrival, they were unable to contact the airport's UNICOM and conducted a visual inspection of the runway. They had no specific information about whether the runway had been cleared of snow from the previous week's snowfall.
Landing Attempt
During the visual check, the CFI allowed the main landing gear to touch down briefly to assess the runway surface condition. The CFI then decided to let the student practice a soft field landing. Shortly after touchdown, the main gear rolled through an area of drifted snow.
Accident
As the main gear moved through the drift, the nose of the aircraft dropped, and the aircraft nosed over. The accident sequence ended with the aircraft inverted or on its nose.