Incident Details
A flight experienced an accident after the pilot decided to return to the departure airport upon learning of icing conditions at a nearby airport. The pilot had not obtained a preflight weather briefing before departure. During the climb-out, the pilot heard about icing conditions at a nearby airport and elected to return and land.
Sequence of Events
Before landing, the aircraft encountered freezing rain and a rapid accumulation of ice on the airframe. Ice on the windshield restricted the pilot's forward visibility, necessitating the use of side windows for visual reference. During the flare to land, the pilot raised the nose of the aircraft to arrest a sink rate. However, the aircraft landed hard, resulting in the collapse of the right main landing gear.
Aircraft Damage
The hard landing caused the right main landing gear to collapse. No other damage items are specified in the source.
Contributing Factors
The source notes that no preflight weather briefing was obtained. This fact is recorded but is not stated as a causal factor in the official account. No other factors are identified.