Incident Summary
During an attempted aborted landing, the airplane impacted trees and terrain. The pilot reported that touchdown occurred at about halfway down a 1,000-foot-long field, with a short bounce that left the airplane uncomfortably long. The pilot executed a go-around and was surprised by sluggish climb performance and the height of trees at the end of the field.
Pilot Account
According to the pilot, with full flaps, the airplane felt as though too much drag was being created. While at approximately 50 feet above the ground, the pilot realized proximity to pine trees and retracted the flaps to reduce drag. About the same time, the right wingtip struck a pine tree. The impact slowed the right wing, causing the aircraft to spin to the right before coming down in a field north of the trees.
Environmental Factors
The pilot stated that in retrospect, the airplane had 50 gallons of fuel compared to the usual 25 gallons for that field. Additionally, the temperature and high humidity increased ground speed due to higher density altitude, which reduced climb performance compared to previous landings in cooler winter temperatures. The pilot also noted that turbulence and gusts led to carrying excessive airspeed for a successful short-field landing, accounting for a power line. A weather reporting station recorded wind speed at the time of the accident as 6 knots with no gusts.