What happened
During a night approach and landing on runway 25, the flight crew encountered unexpected surface conditions. Although a NOTAM had previously warned of thin, loose snow and patchy ice, the crew had not received any updated runway condition reports during their flight. Upon touchdown, the co-pilot noted that the aircraft was sliding and that the wheel brakes were providing no effective deceleration.
In an attempt to regain control, the captain took command of the aircraft, deployed the air brakes, and ordered the deployment of the drag chute. Despite these efforts, the aircraft could not be stopped within the available runway length, eventually overrunning the end of the runway by roughly 100 feet. After leaving the paved surface, the landing gear struck a snow berm created by previous plowing operations. Following the incident, the captain maneuvered the aircraft back toward the ramp for inspection.
Post-accident assessments identified a fractured nose gear strut and buckling in the fuselage. While the drag chute's extractor cap had activated, the parachute itself failed to exit its tail cone container. The crew described the braking action as nil due to the icy surface.
Findings
Investigations into the runway environment revealed that while the surface had been plowed and sanded several times, the conditions had deteriorated. The airport manager noted that no staff had been on duty for several hours at the time of the accident. Although no new precipitation had been recorded in the 20 hours prior to the event, the crew's experience of the runway was characterized by extreme slipperiness. The specific reason for the failure of the drag chute to deploy remains undetermined.