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The pilot of a PA31 experienced deep snow during landing that resulted in a ground loop; runway excursion; and main landing gear collapse.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 1311756 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201511 |
| Local Time Of Day | 0601-1200 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | ZZZ.Airport |
| State Reference | US |
| Environment | |
| Flight Conditions | VMC |
| Light | Daylight |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | PA-31 Navajo/Chieftan/Mojave/T1040 |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 135 |
| Flight Phase | Landing |
| Route In Use | Direct |
| Flight Plan | IFR |
| Component | |
| Aircraft Component | Main Gear |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Single Pilot |
| Qualification | Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP) Flight Crew Flight Instructor Flight Crew Multiengine Flight Crew Instrument |
| Experience | Flight Crew Last 90 Days 121 Flight Crew Total 32769 Flight Crew Type 831 |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Ground Event / Encounter Ground Strike - Aircraft Ground Event / Encounter Loss Of Aircraft Control Ground Excursion Runway |
Narrative:
Landed on runway covered in snow. Nobody was on the island to give a runway report. Remote cameras did not show deep snow however the cameras do not show the runway itself. Based on a fly by and inspection of runway side cones I considered that the snow was only a few inches deep and suitable for landing. There were no berms or drifts apparent. Temperature was below freezing and the wind was about 15 knots from the right side. Soon after touchdown I ran into deeper wet snow that caused the airplane to rapidly decelerate and to ground loop off the side of the runway into soft ground. Both main landing gears collapsed and the right wing touched the ground before the airplane came to a stop. Nobody was hurt and emergency evacuation was not required.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: The pilot of a PA31 experienced deep snow during landing that resulted in a ground loop; runway excursion; and main landing gear collapse.
Narrative: Landed on runway covered in snow. Nobody was on the island to give a runway report. Remote cameras did not show deep snow however the cameras do not show the runway itself. Based on a fly by and inspection of runway side cones I considered that the snow was only a few inches deep and suitable for landing. There were no berms or drifts apparent. Temperature was below freezing and the wind was about 15 knots from the right side. Soon after touchdown I ran into deeper wet snow that caused the airplane to rapidly decelerate and to ground loop off the side of the runway into soft ground. Both main landing gears collapsed and the right wing touched the ground before the airplane came to a stop. Nobody was hurt and emergency evacuation was not required.
Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.