Incident Overview
An airplane was substantially damaged during a forced landing to a field located on airport property. The forced landing was initiated shortly after departure.
Pilot Actions
The pilot reported performing a preflight inspection and cleaning snow and ice off the top of the airplane. He stated that the airplane accelerated normally and climbed to 500 feet. During the climb, the pilot observed some geese and turned to avoid them, but he did not recall whether he struck them. Subsequently, the airplane began to "fall from the sky." The pilot turned back toward the runway, but the airplane started to stall. He then landed the airplane in a field adjacent to the runway.
Witness Observations
A witness who arrived at the scene approximately 35 minutes after the accident reported that the airplane was located about 800 feet south of the runway. This witness noted "lots of ice and snow on top of the wings, also the tail section," and specifically mentioned that the elevators, ailerons, and flaps were loaded with ice. The witness observed the airplane again the next morning in daylight and stated, "It was obvious that there was heavy ice on the topside of all surfaces of the aircraft and it was sticking solid."
A second witness observed that the leading edges of the wings were clean, but there was a layer of "hard, icy stuff aft of the leading edges." This witness reported that it had been snowing with freezing drizzle over the previous two days, but no freezing drizzle occurred the night before the observation.
Post-Accident Inspection
An inspection of the airplane revealed no preexisting anomalies.