What happened
The pilot was operating a ski-equipped airplane on a frozen lake, preparing for departure. During the taxi phase, the pilot acknowledged that he was moving at an excessive speed. The environmental conditions presented significant visual challenges due to flat lighting, which obscured terrain features from view. As a result of these visibility issues, the pilot failed to notice a berm composed of frozen snow ahead.
The right landing gear ski climbed over the first berm and subsequently impacted a second adjacent snow berm. This impact generated sufficient force to tear the right main landing gear assembly completely away from the airplane fuselage. The aircraft sustained significant structural damage as a direct consequence of this collision with the terrain feature.
The investigation
Examination of the accident site revealed that the right main landing gear had been detached from the airframe. The sequence of events indicated that the ski crested one obstacle and struck another, leading to the catastrophic failure of the attachment points for the right gear.