LONE PINE, CA, USA
N166VP
Victor Marsh MARSH 1
The pilot intended to fly his homebuilt airplane, with its 65 horsepower engine, in a westward direction over the Sierra Nevada Mountains. After departure from the 3,680-foot mean sea level (msl) Lone Pine Airport, the pilot circled the area to gain altitude. Eventually the pilot located a mountain pass and proceeded in a westerly direction toward his home in Tracy, California. The elevation of the underlying terrain began increasing faster than the airplane was climbing, so the pilot made a forced landing on the snow-covered mountainside. The accident site elevation is about 10,500 feet msl and is about 8 miles southeast of Mt. Whitney. In the pilot's completed report, he indicated that no mechanical malfunctions or failures were experienced during the accident flight in his experimental airplane.
On March 21, 1998, at 1200 hours Pacific standard time, a Victor Marsh, Marsh 1, N166VP, (experimental airplane) impacted trees and rising terrain about 10 miles southwest of Lone Pine, California. The airplane was substantially damaged and neither the commercial pilot nor the passenger was injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed. The personal flight originated from Lone Pine at 1100. The pilot verbally reported that he intended to fly his homebuilt airplane, with its 65 horsepower engine, in a westward direction over the Sierra Nevada Mountains. After departure from the 3,680-foot mean sea level (msl) Lone Pine Airport, he circled the area to gain altitude. Eventually the pilot located a mountain pass and proceeded in a westerly direction toward his home in Tracy, California. The pilot further reported that the elevation of the underlying terrain began increasing faster than his airplane was climbing. Unable to reverse course, he made a forced landing on the rising, snow-covered, mountainous terrain. The accident site elevation is about 10,500 feet msl and is about 8 miles southeast of Mt. Whitney. In the pilot's completed report, he indicated that at the time of the accident the wind was light and variable. There was no turbulence. The pilot also reported that no mechanical malfunctions or failures were experienced with his airplane.
The pilot's improper in-flight planning, misjudged terrain clearance, and failure to attain adequate altitude before attempting to traverse the mountain pass. Contributing factors were the high density altitude and the rising, mountainous terrain.
Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database
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