Cessna C-177B | N34903

The DTSB determines the Probable Cause of this accident to be Pilot Error, in that the pilot overflew the grass runway at around 700 feet AGL, for the purposes of inspection. Upon completion of the pass and application of power, the pilot realized that the thrust being provided was insufficient to outclimb the rising terrain that he was then surrounded by. The aircraft crashed following an attempted turn and loss of lift, the other two passengers were able to egress but due to the ensuing fire, they were not able to recover the pilot from the left seat. The two surviving occupants walked to a nearby road where they could obtain assistance from passing motorists.

The DTSB recommends that all pilots of all aircraft become familiar with performance and density altitude when operating in areas of rapidly rising terrain, and not descend lower than that which would allow a safe reduced performance climb during a go around procedure. Many mountainous fields are both high elevation, and unusually high density altitude as compared to other areas of the country, and have published procedures for one way in, one way out. The DTSB recommends that pilots not attempt to outclimb rapidly rising terrain, and take prudent steps to prevent being placed in these scenarios.