Piper PA-18-150 Landing Incident on Brulé Glacier (I-BGMT)

Event Overview and Aircraft Details On 14 February 2004 at 12:30 UTC, a Piper PA-18-150 Super Cub with registration I-BGMT was involved in an incident while landing on an unmarked snow surface on the Brulé Glacier in Aosta. The aircraft was a single-engine, high-wing model powered by a Lycoming O-320-A2B engine and was operated by Aero Club Aosta for a tourism flight. ## Personnel and Damage The aircraft carried two people: a 42-year-old male pilot holding a valid private pilot license (PPL) and a passenger. Both individuals were uninjured. The incident caused damage to the landing gear trapeze, with no third-party damage reported. ## Meteorological and Operational Context Weather conditions in the Aosta Valley and specifically the Valpelline were excellent, with no clouds or wind at the landing surface or at altitude. A flat barometric field across Europe indicated stable conditions were expected to continue. ## Analysis of the Incident According to the pilot's statement, the event occurred at the end of the landing roll. The aircraft was nearly stopped when the left ski struck a block of ice, causing the landing gear trapeze to collapse. Prior to landing, the pilot conducted a reconnaissance of the area, overflying the glacier's outlet at 10,000 feet to check for turbulence and the entire glacier at 10,700 feet (approximately 400 feet above ground) to assess obstacles. During the reconnaissance, several snow blocks were observed but were underestimated in terms of consistency. Based on the time of day and sunlight conditions, the snow was assessed as “wet.” In reality, the snow was unexpectedly more frozen, hard, and “fast,” extending the deceleration run beyond the estimated length. The aircraft then encountered the previously observed irregular surface with snow blocks that, upon impact, proved more resistant than expected, leading to the collapse of the landing gear trapeze.