What happened
During an initial descent toward the Chevak Airport, a commercial pilot reported that the airplane became heavy to control while flying through a mixture of rain and snow showers. While established on a left base for landing on runway 14, the aircraft stopped responding to left control yoke inputs.
The pilot managed to execute a slow right turn of 270 degrees from the original heading to align the aircraft with runway 14. During short final, while passing over the runway threshold, the pilot attempted to apply left control yoke movement to compensate for a left crosswind of 12 to 15 knots. The controls again failed to respond, causing the airplane to drift to the right. The aircraft subsequently touched down to the right of the runway and nosed over.
The investigation
A postaccident inspection of the aircraft revealed ice formation on the fuselage, struts, and wings. The aircraft sustained substantial damage to its wings and fuselage.