<< >> NASA ASRS Report 392929, January 1998

An small aircraft pilot landing in snow, off airport and on an unimproved surface noses over resulting in a propeller strike and nose cowl damage.

Attributes
ACN	392929
Time
Date	199801
Day	Thu
Local Time Of Day	1201 To 1800
Place
Locale Reference	atc facility : eau
State Reference	WI
Altitude	agl bound lower : 0 agl bound upper : 0
Environment
Flight Conditions	Mixed
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Controlling Facilities	artcc : zmp
Operator	general aviation : personal
Make Model Name	Any Unknown or Unlisted Aircraft Manufacturer
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 91
Flight Phase	landing other
Flight Plan	VFR
Person 1
Affiliation	Other
Function	flight crew : single pilot
Qualification	pilot : private
Experience	flight time last 90 days : 16 flight time total : 1170 flight time type : 500
ASRS Report	392929
Person 2
Affiliation	Other
Function	observation : passenger
Qualification	other other : other
Events
Anomaly	other anomaly other anomaly other
Independent Detector	other flight crewa
Resolutory Action	none taken : detected after the fact
Consequence	other
Supplementary
Primary Problem	Flight Crew Human Performance
Air Traffic Incident	Pilot Deviation other

Narrative:

Incident occurred while landing on an unimproved surface. Landing gear caught in snow resulting in a nose over, propeller strike, and damage to nose cowl. Contributing factors: 1) overcast with sun behind causing diminished depth perception. 2) uneven depth of snow. 3) lack of visual clues in landing area. Recurrence can be prevented by being more aware of difficulties when landing in conditions subject to whiteout.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: AN SMA PLT LNDG IN SNOW, OFF ARPT AND ON AN UNIMPROVED SURFACE NOSES OVER RESULTING IN A PROP STRIKE AND NOSE COWL DAMAGE.

Narrative: INCIDENT OCCURRED WHILE LNDG ON AN UNIMPROVED SURFACE. LNDG GEAR CAUGHT IN SNOW RESULTING IN A NOSE OVER, PROP STRIKE, AND DAMAGE TO NOSE COWL. CONTRIBUTING FACTORS: 1) OVCST WITH SUN BEHIND CAUSING DIMINISHED DEPTH PERCEPTION. 2) UNEVEN DEPTH OF SNOW. 3) LACK OF VISUAL CLUES IN LNDG AREA. RECURRENCE CAN BE PREVENTED BY BEING MORE AWARE OF DIFFICULTIES WHEN LNDG IN CONDITIONS SUBJECT TO WHITEOUT.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2007 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.