What happened
The pilot was a student engaged in flight training maneuvers when the incident occurred. The specific activity involved practicing multiple takeoffs and landings at the airport. During the sequence of operations, the aircraft experienced a bounce upon touchdown during its second landing attempt.
Following the bounce, the aircraft drifted to the left side of the runway centerline. Instead of remaining on the paved surface, the left main landing gear made contact with soft, wet snow located adjacent to the runway. The aircraft continued to roll forward over the snowy area for approximately 200 feet.
During this uncontrolled rollout, the nose of the aircraft struck an area of mud. This impact caused the aircraft to nosed over, resulting in significant damage to the airframe and landing gear assembly. The student pilot was not injured during the event.
The investigation
Examination of the accident site revealed that the left main gear had departed the runway surface and traveled into the soft snow. The presence of wet snow and mud contributed to the loss of directional control and the subsequent nosing over of the aircraft nose gear.
Findings
The primary factors leading to this accident were the bounced landing and the subsequent drift off the runway centerline. The condition of the surface, specifically the soft wet snow and underlying mud, exacerbated the situation by reducing friction and stability, leading to the final nosing over event.