A C-130M hits a snow drift while landing at the Teniente Rodolfo Marsh airport in Northern Antarctica, causing the right wheel to fail and the aircraft to go into a slide. The right side of the plane then clipped another plane, spinning the entire aircraft out. No one was injured

The snow would actually cause the plane to decelerate quicker because of the insanely higher amount of friction... even if it's a solid sheet of ice underneath. The inverse of this (taking off) is why some planes expecting to take off from a snowed-in runway (or just fields) will use skis... their motors can't get them up to speed because of all the added friction.

The real problem is what u/bitches_love_brie suggested... the pilot couldn't see the obstacle because of a lack of contrast, so landed a little early. Probably also combined with not being able to tell exactly where the ground is (for same reasons).

Some backcountry pilots will straight up carry a board with them (think 2x4), do a low pass where they toss out the board, do a go around, then the board will help them get their bearings (being a known size) for WHERE the ground actually is.

Source: am a pilot and hang out with others who have way more hours than me.

/r/CatastrophicFailure Thread Parent Link - gfycat.com