What happened
On May 22, 2012, a De Havilland DHC-2 MK. I(L20A), registration N323KT, landed at a base camp located on a glacier. To prevent the aircraft from sliding while on the glacier, the pilot raised the wheel skis and engaged the parking brake. After lowering the skis for departure, the pilot failed to release the parking brake.
Upon returning and touching down on a hard-surfaced runway, the aircraft came to an abrupt stop. This sudden deceleration caused the airplane to nose down before settling back onto the tailwheel. The impact resulted in no injuries, but the horizontal stabilizer sustained substantial damage.
The investigation
The pilot reported that there were no mechanical anomalies with the aircraft prior to the accident. The investigation determined that the accident could have been prevented had the pilot ensured the parking brake was released after the glacier operations, which would have prevented the abrupt stop during the subsequent landing on wheels.