Cessna 210-5 N8450Z accident near West Glacier, Montana

Probable cause

The pilot elected to abort the takeoff without sufficient runway available to land and stop the airplane. Contributing to the accident was the illusion created by the rising terrain, which influenced the pilot's decision to abort the takeoff.

NTSB analysis

The pilot reported that the airplane accelerated normally on the takeoff roll. It became airborne between 1,000 and 1,200 feet down the 2,500-foot runway, had a positive rate of climb, but was not climbing as he would have expected. The pilot elected to abort the takeoff and reduced power but then realized that 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 1/4 mile beyond the end of the runway after colliding with a log. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right wing. The pilot stated that he felt the optical illusion of rising terrain and a rising runway caused him to feel that the airplane was not climbing adequately.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for WPR12CA284 for the full record.