Incident Details
A private pilot, who had accumulated 333 hours of flight time, was attempting to land a Cessna 185 at a remote dirt airstrip. During the approach, the airplane was on a short, low final approach when its left wing struck a tree. The impact resulted in a complete loss of control of the aircraft.
Pilot's Account
The pilot reported that he did not see the tree until after the accident occurred. Initially, he believed that he had simply become too slow and inadvertently stalled the airplane. However, after discovering the tree strike, he explained that he had not seen the tree because none of its branches had any leaves, making it difficult to perceive against the background.
The pilot's statement indicates that the tree was not visible to him during the approach due to the lack of foliage, which likely contributed to his failure to detect the obstacle in time.