The aircraft was charted by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) providing support to a group of researchers at a remote location in Antarctica. It collided with drifted snow and ice while taking off from a field site near Mt. Patterson in West Antarctica.
The six passengers aboard the aircraft were part of the NSF-funded portion of the international Polar Earth Observatory Network (POLENET) project, which is deploying GPS units and seismic sensors across Antarctica.
The aircraft sustained damage to the underside of the nose, the tail wheel collapsed, both main landing gears separated and both propellers were damaged.