What happened
The aircraft departed from its home base airport at 0740 for what was presumed to be a local area flight. On the morning of the 15th, the aircraft was reported overdue after a passenger failed to return home, prompting the FAA to issue an alert for the missing plane. At 1641 that afternoon, a search helicopter located the wreckage.
Prior to the accident, the pilot had frequently practiced short and soft landings in dirt, often landing on sand dunes using large tundra tires designed for soft, unimproved surfaces. During the morning of the 14th, weather conditions were clear with southerly winds at less than 10 knots and no unusual meteorological phenomena.
The aircraft collided with flat desert terrain in a steep nose-down attitude. The impact site consisted of firm sandy soil and scrub trees up to 10 feet tall; notably, the surrounding trees showed no evidence of disturbance to their upper branches or trunks.
The investigation
The wreckage sustained extensive longitudinal crush and collapse of the fuselage, extending back to within 3 feet of the horizontal stabilizers. Investigators noted ground scar impressions approximately 15 feet from the wreckage that resembled the nose of the aircraft and the left wing tip. The engine was found in a shallow crater at a 30-degree angle to the horizontal.
No pre-impact mechanical malfunctions or failures were identified in any airframe system or the engine. Approximately 1/2 mile southwest of the wreckage, investigators discovered a large clear area containing multiple tire tracks. These tracks were consistent with the width of PA-18 series aircraft main gear and included a center track matching the geometry of the aircraft's tail wheel. The tracks traveled about 500 feet before turning around. The location of these tracks was consistent with a traffic pattern distance from a typical 2,000-foot landing strip.