Originally Posted by
clearedtocross
There is no need for engine trouble to cause such an accident. This aircraft flew at or above its service ceiling: fully loaded, ISA +17 Celsius. Crash site is at approx. 8500 ft plus the 500 ft you should clear any surface plus nearly +3000 ft density altitude for temperature above ISA adds up to about 12'000 ft density altitude. The BMW radials fitted have much less power than the former Luftwaffe engines (500+ instead of 800+ HP) and are normaly aspirated. Which means that the aircraft was cruising at max. power (which is maybe half of its sea level power) and somewhere near 1.3 times above its rather low stall speed.
Complete rubbish.
Did you ever cross mountains in a piston engine? The Ju52 will go up to 18000 feet outperforming a typical C172 and any Homo sapiens not on oxygen. 12.000 feet density altitude is nothing special. You can go to 14.000 feet without oxygen for half an hour. You will feel a bit tired and that improves with every 500 feet you go down.
Here two experienced captains where faced with a problem they could not solve and that was definitely not a density altitude problem. It might be one additional hole in the cheese but not the definite one for the outcome.
From what I see on the terrain, they could have maid it to an emergency landing even without any power. So there is more to the story.