N50836

On December 29, 1995, at 1210 eastern standard time, a Cessna 150J, N50836, was substantially damaged during a landing at the Kutztown Airport, Kutztown, Pennsylvania. The student pilot and passenger were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed for the personal transportation flight which originated at Smoketown, Pennsylvania, at 1130, and was operated under 14 CFR Part 91.

In the NTSB Accident Report, the pilot stated:

Decided to land on runway 28 due to wind direction - Called UNICOM on downwind of intention to land on 28. Called on base and another plane taxing said they would hold. Did not say whether 28 was safe.

After initial contact plane rolled on snow until it lost most forward momentum. Right gear dropped in deeper snow and caused nose wheel to come down and plane nosed over and slid to a stop....

In a telephone interview, the pilot reported that he chose runway 28 because he thought the snow was hard packed, and the runway was into the wind; however, after landing, he determined that the snow was soft, and its depth was about 8 inches. Additionally, he reported that, although the passenger held a pilot certificate, he did not make any decisions about the flight or operate the flight controls.

In a telephone interview, an FAA Inspector reported that runway 17/35, a hard surfaced runway which was free of snow was also available. Additionally, he reported that the pilot of another airplane had advised against landing on runway 28, but offered no information on actual runway conditions.