July 2, 2012, West Glacier, Mon., Cessna 205

The pilot reported the airplane accelerated normally on the takeoff roll, becoming airborne between 1000 and 1200 feet down the 2500-foot runway, but wasn’t climbing as he expected. The pilot elected to abort the takeoff and reduced power, but then realized he did not have enough runway remaining to land. As the pilot was adding power to abort the landing, the airplane contacted the ground, departed the runway and came to rest about one-quarter mile beyond it, after colliding with a log. The pilot later stated the optical illusion of rising terrain and a rising runway caused him to believe the airplane was not climbing adequately.

Key Takeaways:

• A pilot aborted takeoff due to a perceived inadequate climb, which was later identified as an optical illusion caused by rising terrain and runway.
• After aborting, the pilot realized there was insufficient runway remaining to land.
• The aircraft subsequently impacted the ground beyond the runway and crashed after striking a log, as the pilot attempted to add power to resume flight.

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