What happened
A company pilot, carrying one adult and two teenagers, departed for a remote airstrip as part of a scheduled hunting trip. The flight was the first of two planned legs; the pilot was intended to return to pick up the station manager of the air taxi company and another passenger after the initial delivery.
When the aircraft failed to return as scheduled, no radio contact or ELT signal was initially received. The station manager did not immediately report the flight overdue, assuming the crew was waiting for weather conditions to improve. However, after the aircraft failed to return by the afternoon of the following day, the passengers' father reported the flight overdue. Search personnel subsequently detected an ELT signal near the destination airstrip, and search aircraft located the airplane at the strip on the evening of the second day.
The pilot had not previously flown to this specific dirt airstrip, which measured approximately 1,400 feet in length and 20 feet in width. During the landing flare, the aircraft experienced a hard bounce, rebounding into the air for approximately 170 feet. As the aircraft drifted to the right, it touched down on the right main landing gear, causing the right wing to strike alder bushes along the edge of the strip.
As the airplane continued its landing roll, the right wing struck high vegetation. Approximately 250 feet after making contact with the alders, the aircraft veered off the right side of the airstrip into tall brush. This maneuver caused the nose wheel landing gear strut to shear off and the propeller to strike the ground. All occupants were not injured.
The investigation
The pilot, who held airframe and powerplant ratings, inspected the aircraft and noted minor denting on the leading edge of the right wing. No structural damage was found at the nose wheel strut attachment point. Following the accident, the airplane was recovered and repaired, which included replacing over eight feet of the right wing's leading edge.