WPR23FA296 · Cessna T206H

A pilot on a personal flight attempted to land at a remote airstrip in a mountain valley. A witness, who was located near the airstrip, observed the pilot attempt to land to the north in gusting wind conditions. The pilot then aborted the landing and performed a goaround. During the goaround, the airplane appeared low, and the witness lost sight of it when it went behind a ridgeline. The airplane wreckage was subsequently located a few miles north of the airport. During the approach and attempted landing, the pilot likely encountered a 15–20 knot tailwind and clear air turbulence that made landing difficult and resulted in performance issues during the goaround and subsequent climbout. Additionally, the pilot failed to follow published guidance that landing or takeoff with unfavorable winds was not recommended, and that a go-around from the final leg of the traffic pattern was not possible due to high terrain. Furthermore, during the go-around and climbout, the pilot had to navigate through a mountainous valley that required turns to avoid terrain, which further degraded climb performance. Flight data revealed that during the last few minutes of flight, the engine was operational, and all engine parameters were normal. Additionally, the data showed that the airplane’s flight path was consistent with controlled flight, but the airplane’s climb rate was inadequate to avoid the rising terrain encountered after the goaround. Postaccident examination of the airplane’s airframe and engine revealed no failures or malfunctions that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot had a history of Fuch’s corneal dystrophy, but the investigation found no evidence that this condition was impairing the pilot at the time of the accident. Although the pilot’s cardiovascular disease increased his risk of experiencing a sudden impairing or incapacitating cardiac event, the circumstances of the accident were not consistent with such an event. Toxicology results indicated that the pilot had used the antihistamine medication diphenhydramine, but no determination about impairment could be made from the diphenhydramine levels detected.

Verbatim NTSB analysis and probable cause from the NTSB dataset