Interesting video
 

Lost for words (almost), a complete lack of sound judgement on display!?
LiveLeak.com - (Must Watch!!) Plane crash video from inside cockpit

When you are flying that low, you have to expect the unexpected!

Yah gotta think that with a takeoff roll that long that performance wasn't "optimum".:sad:

Jesus f^&king christ. How lucky are they to be alive? The whole time on the take-off roll I was like abort abort abort.....:ugh::ugh::ugh::ugh:

Well looks like his iPad didn't help after all. I'm sure you can easily do performance calcs on it.

Yeah, I would've pulled the pin after 30 sec of takeoff roll......
There was always the tomorrow morning option for them.

I bet: high density alt; heavy TOW, no TODR estimated....

Lucky there was no fire.

One doesn't see the necessity to fly low level at tree top height into up sloping terrain in the particular circumstances.

They are setting themselves up to fail for no (apparent) sensible reason.

Not much different to the usual problems with glider tug paddock retrieves .. the aim is to control and minimise risk .. not recklessly expose the operation to more of the same ..

Yes very lucky indeed there was no fire.

Yes how many km of ground effect did they fly in?

Check out the Angle of Attack from the side view camera.

Stalled... Where's Planky...

Even after they were airborne and beyond the end of the runway, and obviously not climbing, they passed over what must have been a mile or so of open unobstructed fields they could have landed in before getting to the trees.

Question on this incident.

Would a bit of flap helped in anyway?

VB

Beat me to it!

Although in all probability the sink encountered was more than likely due to lack of performance and the initial onset of a stall.

Very very lucky.

I've been here in a chieftain once. 48 degrees 1000m strip, nil wind in the goonies at max weight. Luckily after about 5nm of hanging off the props above treetop level she climbed away. I had to remove the wooly seat cover from my arsehole upon landing however. She was puckered up pretty tight.

Bugger :hmm:

The river they said they were visiting runs through a mountainous area that has varying terrain ranging up to 10,000ft.

It does more look like the aircraft was struggling for performance due density altitude and hit a downdraft or similar that overcame its limited capabilities.

Looking at the footage and especially the slow motion and rear seat footage its absolutely amazing anyone survived let alone was walking around afterwards. Reminds me of the footage of the bonanza hitting trees whilst scud running through mountains and getting away with it.

One of Pipers responses to an accident where a Navajo crashed after losing an engine on a 40 degree day was that the aircraft was not certified to operate beyond the lines on the performance chart. The lines end about 36 degrees at sea level. Piper stated that performance degraded very quickly beyond these lines and the aircraft should not be operated in these conditions.