What happened
The incident occurred when an aircraft was being relocated approximately 150 feet from a designated parking area to a nearby storage building. At the time of the event, there was approximately 2.5 feet of fresh snow covering the ground. Although the snow had been cleared from the parking area directly in front of the storage building, operational conditions were compromised by other activities.
A snow cat had entered the parking area and stopped just as the pilot was approaching to land. The pilot reported that this obstruction rendered the parking area unusable for its intended purpose. As the aircraft attempted to proceed, the pilot encountered a white-out condition caused by the heavy circulation of snow particles in the air. This environmental factor led to disorientation.
Consequently, the aircraft landed hard in a nose-down attitude. The crash resulted from the combination of reduced visibility and the pilot's loss of spatial orientation during the ground maneuver.
The investigation
Investigation findings indicated that the primary issue was the pilot's inability to maintain proper orientation due to the white-out conditions. The presence of the snow cat in the parking area contributed to the decision-making process, but the critical failure was the disorientation experienced before touchdown.
Findings
The accident was caused by disorientation due to a white-out condition during low visibility operations on the ground. Contributing factors included the heavy circulation of snow and the obstruction of the parking area by a snow cat.