Plane crash in Idaho

[GusNSpot]

Looks like he remained at full power all the way in & there was no fire? I want his guardian angel …

Was he at full fuel?

How long was the flight going to be? ( make it in 2 trips as was mentioned? )

Looked like lower elevation to the right he could have eased over to right after takeoff???

Not using all available tricks to improve lift but I’m unsure about a few things on that model Stinson.

Can you say pilot error?

No such thing as an air pocket. Please don’t say that in an aircraft thread.

Under low or no wind conditions, the air will be slightly cooler and more apt to be descending than adjoining open grass field air. No idea of wind conditions on that takeoff but…

[Johnny_L.A]

The pilot speaks.

The Stinson struggled down the 5,000-foot unpaved runway at Bruce Meadows in Idaho, and Gropp said he was about to abort the effort when “a gust of wind put me in the air.” The Stinson managed to climb just above treetop height but was not gaining altitude, though Gropp said he had expected it would, once airborne. It eventually became clear the Stinson was not going to climb.

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“My estimation of the density altitude was about 2,000 feet off,”

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Gropp said the decision to attempt the takeoff despite climbing temperatures that pushed the density altitude well above the airport elevation of 6,370 feet “was not the best decision of my life,” and he should have ferried his passengers to their next destination—about 45 minutes away, with 6,108 feet of paved runway—one at a time.

The vintage POH did not make performance calculations easy, Gropp said, and he thinks they can be improved to provide critical information in a clearer format.

<snip>