Primary finding
Probable cause
The pilot's misidentification of the airport’s active runway, which resulted in an off runway landing and a collision with a snow berm. Contributing to the accident was the runway’s lack of identifying markings.
Investigator assessment
Analysis narrative
According to the pilot, during the approach to land on a plowed- snow-covered runway, he selected a touchdown point near, what he had identified as, the runway threshold. On short final a pilot-rated passenger seated in the right front seat recommended adding power. The pilot assumed this was to “cushion” the landing not realizing he was landing short of the runway’s plowed surface. Subsequently, the airplane touchdown in an area of unplowed snow, impacted a snow berm, and the nosewheel collapsed. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage. The pilot reported no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions that would have precluded normal operations. In the recommendation section of the NTSB Accident/Incident Reporting Form 6120.1, the pilot stated that the accident may have been prevented if there were clear runway threshold markings to define the runway’s plowed surface. According to the operator, cones are normally used to identify the runway threshold; however, they had been removed due to ongoing snow removal operations on the day of the accident.