What happened
The pilot was operating a wheel/ski-equipped airplane on a frozen lake surface. After completing a landing, the pilot began taxiing toward a designated parking area. During this phase of ground movement, the right wheel or ski encountered an area of crusty, ice-covered snow. The impact caused the right main landing gear to collapse immediately.
Following the gear failure, the airplane nosed over onto its nose. This sequence of events resulted in substantial damage to the wings and the vertical stabilizer. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical anomalies with the airplane prior to the incident.
The investigation
The investigation focused on the mechanics of the landing gear failure and the surface conditions. Examination confirmed that the collapse was triggered by the right wheel/ski striking the hard, crusty ice patch while taxiing. No mechanical defects were found in the landing gear system before the event.
Findings
Contributing factors identified during the review included:
- The airplane's right wheel or ski striking an area of crusty, ice-covered snow
- excessive taxi speed which likely contributed to the severity of the impact and subsequent gear collapse
- The resulting nosed-over attitude causing substantial damage to the wings and vertical stabilizer
The pilot acknowledged that his excessive taxi speed may have been a contributing factor to the landing gear collapse.