What happened
The pilot arrived at an airstrip that was marked as closed to perform a landing after making arrangements to meet his wife at the location. Although the strip was officially closed, the landing area was covered in snow. During the approach, the pilot observed a pedestrian waving from the side of the runway; the pilot believed this individual was his wife.
Upon touchdown, the tailwheel equipped airplane decelerated rapidly on the snow-covered surface. To maintain momentum while taxiing through the snow, the pilot applied power, but the aircraft continued to move slowly. While taxiing, the pilot was looking out of the right-side door and was not performing S-turns. During this maneuver, the pilot caught a glimpse of an object to his left, at which point the left strut of the aircraft struck a pedestrian. The pedestrian, a woman walking her dog on the airstrip, was struck in the back of the head and sustained serious injuries.
Findings
The investigation revealed that the pilot had failed to obtain a weather briefing prior to the flight and was not in possession of a current sectional chart.