What happened
The pilot was conducting a landing operation on a snow-covered surface when the aircraft's skis made initial contact with the ground. Immediately following touchdown, the aircraft began to swerve laterally. As the aircraft departed the designated runway area, the pilot attempted to execute a go-around maneuver to regain altitude and control.
During this critical phase of the go-around attempt, one of the landing gear skis dug into the ground surface. This sudden resistance caused the aircraft to flip over onto its back. The post-accident examination confirmed that the right ski had separated from the aircraft at the axle attachment point on the landing gear structure.
The investigation
A detailed post-accident examination of the wreckage was conducted to determine the mechanical failure mode. Inspectors found that the right ski had broken off at the axle attachment point on the landing gear. No other significant mechanical anomalies were reported in the provided source text regarding the cause of the separation.
Findings
The investigation identified the structural failure of the landing gear ski as the primary factor in the accident sequence. The detachment of the right ski during the initial contact phase led to asymmetric drag and control difficulties, resulting in the swerve and subsequent ground impact that flipped the aircraft.