What happened
The pilot was conducting a glassy water landing maneuver on a lake. During the approach, the airplane traveled beyond the pilot's intended touchdown point. Recognizing the situation, the pilot aborted the landing by rapidly applying power.
Following the application of power, the engine experienced a momentary irregularity, described by the pilot as coughing before returning to normal operation. Despite the engine recovering, the aircraft was unable to achieve a sufficient climb rate to clear the rising terrain along its flight path.
The investigation
The investigation focused on the mechanical status of the engine and the aerodynamic performance of the aircraft during the aborted landing phase. The pilot's statement indicated that the engine functioned normally after the initial coughing episode, suggesting that the primary limitation was not a loss of power but rather the inability to outclimb the terrain given the flight path and altitude.
Findings
The key factors contributing to the incident included:
- The airplane flying past the intended point of landing during a glassy water approach.
- A brief engine coughing event that recovered without further issue.
- The inability of the aircraft to outclimb rising terrain in the direction of its flight path after the aborted landing attempt.