Primary finding
Probable cause
The pilot’s failure to maintain an appropriate glide path during the landing approach, which resulted in in the airplane contacting a snowbank short of the runway.
Investigator assessment
Analysis narrative
The pilot was flying a standard traffic pattern to approach an ice runway on a frozen lake. The pilot described that she flew the final approach lower and slower than usual due to the known lack of braking action on the ice. The pilot stated that, based on an online video viewed the night before, she used an icy snowbank as the aiming point for landing. During the approach, the airplane was too low and slow, and the airplane’s nose and right main landing gear contacted the snowbank. The impact resulted in the nose pitching downward and the propeller striking the ice. The airplane then pivoted on the ice and came to rest with the tail positioned in the snowbank on the right side of the displaced threshold, just short of the runway. The airplane’s right wing was substantially damaged during the accident sequence. The pilot reported that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures of the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.