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, later attributing this to an optical illusion of rising terrain and runway.
• After aborting takeoff, the pilot realized insufficient runway remained to land and attempted to reapply power, but the airplane contacted the ground.
• The aircraft departed the runway, colliding with a log, and came to rest approximately a quarter-mile beyond the runway end.

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