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A ercoupe pilot flying out of a high altitude arizona airport intending to sight see over even higher terrain found himself barely able to avoid ground obstacles while in mountainous terrain and unable to maintain altitude.
| Attributes | |
| ACN | 1094831 |
| Time | |
| Date | 201306 |
| Local Time Of Day | 0601-1200 |
| Place | |
| Locale Reference | ZAB.ARTCC |
| State Reference | NM |
| Environment | |
| Light | Daylight |
| Aircraft 1 | |
| Make Model Name | Small Aircraft Low Wing 1 Eng Fixed Gear |
| Operating Under FAR Part | Part 103 |
| Flight Phase | Climb |
| Route In Use | Direct |
| Flight Plan | None |
| Person 1 | |
| Function | Pilot Flying Single Pilot |
| Experience | Flight Crew Last 90 Days 8 Flight Crew Total 200 Flight Crew Type 180 |
| Events | |
| Anomaly | Inflight Event / Encounter CFTT / CFIT Inflight Event / Encounter Weather / Turbulence |
| Miss Distance | Vertical 8 |
Narrative:
I was on a sight seeing flight going up through greer valley towards the mountain flats of big lake in eastern arizona. I pre-flighted; checked weight and balance and ran performance factors and density altitude. Wnl takeoff and climb to greer valley which is west and south of D68. I spiraled up altitude in greer valley to 9;400 ft. I then proceeded up the valley to get up to the area I wanted to see. When near the top of the valley I stopped climbing and hit a 'sink hole of air.' I continued up the valley as there was no place to turn around and saw approaching terrain. Fearing I would run out of airspace and hit the ground I saw a v cut to my left and took it. While crossing a road I estimate I came within 6-8 feet of ground and then I [nearly] hit something which I believe was a snow road reflector post.my concern is I did not do a flight briefing although I was aware of performance factors. I believe the near hit was preventable by using better judgment on performance factors and being more generous on my safety factors. I will also always get a flight briefing even for local flights in VFR conditions.
Original NASA ASRS Text
Title: A Ercoupe pilot flying out of a high altitude Arizona airport intending to sight see over even higher terrain found himself barely able to avoid ground obstacles while in mountainous terrain and unable to maintain altitude.
Narrative: I was on a sight seeing flight going up through Greer Valley towards the mountain flats of Big Lake in eastern Arizona. I pre-flighted; checked weight and balance and ran performance factors and density altitude. WNL takeoff and climb to Greer Valley which is west and south of D68. I spiraled up altitude in Greer Valley to 9;400 FT. I then proceeded up the valley to get up to the area I wanted to see. When near the top of the valley I stopped climbing and hit a 'sink hole of air.' I continued up the valley as there was no place to turn around and saw approaching terrain. Fearing I would run out of airspace and hit the ground I saw a v cut to my left and took it. While crossing a road I estimate I came within 6-8 feet of ground and then I [nearly] hit something which I believe was a snow road reflector post.My concern is I did not do a flight briefing although I was aware of performance factors. I believe the near hit was preventable by using better judgment on performance factors and being more generous on my safety factors. I will also always get a flight briefing even for local flights in VFR conditions.
Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2013 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.