What happened
A certificated airline transport pilot was performing an on-demand air taxi flight involving a tailwheel equipped airplane. The incident occurred while the pilot was conducting the third landing of the day on a remote airstrip situated on a ridge line.
The airstrip is approximately 1,500 feet long and only about 10 feet wide, oriented east/west. According to the pilot, the strip is used as a one-way runway with all landings performed toward the west. The terrain of the strip is flat for roughly half its length before proceeding uphill.
During the landing sequence, the pilot successfully touched down on the main landing gear. However, before the tail wheel could make contact with the ground, a gust of wind pushed the aircraft off the left side of the narrow strip. This movement caused the leading edge of the left wing to strike a tree, resulting in damage to the wing tip and the wing nose ribs. At the time of the accident, the pilot reported a tailwind of approximately 15 knots originating from 090 degrees. The pilot was not injured.