Incident Details
During a local sightseeing flight, the pilot entered a river valley in mountainous terrain at approximately 1,000 feet above ground level. After flying about five miles, the pilot decided to exit the narrowing valley by initiating a climbing right turn over a ridge line. Approximately two-thirds of the way up the slope, the pilot realized that the aircraft might not clear the top of the ridge line and that there was insufficient altitude or airspeed to safely turn away from the rapidly rising slope. He elected to make a controlled landing at near stall speed. The aircraft subsequently contacted the mountainside about 300 feet below the top of the ridge line.
Pilot Background
The pilot is an active duty military pilot assigned to fly Lockheed C-141B transports. His flight experience consists entirely of high performance jets, with the exception of about 32 hours of general aviation flight experience obtained two years prior to the accident.
Pilot Statement
The pilot stated that he overestimated the performance of the aircraft and had no prior experience in single-engine propeller mountain flying.