The ski equipped DHC-6-300 aircraft, operating as flight SPR971, was on a flight from Nain Airport (YDP) to deposit a cache of seven fuel drums on a frozen lake 86 miles north of Nain. After arriving at the coordinates given for the fuel cache, the crew considered a couple of lakes for the landing. On the first lake selected, the crew conducted a touch-and-go to test the conditions and found them unacceptable. On the second lake, while conducting a touch-and-go, the nose gear struck a snow bank and broke off. The aircraft came to a stop approximately 100 feet further on. The tie-down ring securing the fuel drum broke and the fuel drums moved forward up against the cockpit bulkhead. There were no injuries to the two crew and to the one passenger who was seated behind the fuel drums in the rear of the aircraft. The area was described as treeless and featureless. A few weeks after the mishap a helicopter arrived to transport the plane back to a location more suitable for repairs. At a height of about 300 m the helicopter’s sling broke. The Twin Otter fell down and was damaged beyond repair as a result.