Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Lake Mary, Arizona 86001
Saturday, April 17, 1999 19:00 MST

The pilot and passenger departed Flagstaff and flew about 13 miles east-southeast until reaching Lake Mary. While over the lake, the pilot performed an acrobatic maneuver which was described by a boater as being a roll. Thereafter, the boater observed the airplane passing overhead at an altitude low enough to wave at its occupants. The passenger in the airplane reported that he waved at the boaters, and he observed them wave back. The airplane, described by the passenger as low enough to the lake to have been 'grazing' it, then maneuvered toward the shoreline and adjacent tree-covered rising terrain. The passenger recalled that although the airplane's engine was developing 2,500 rpm and was operating 'fine,' the pilot was unable to gain enough altitude to clear the trees and impacted them during an avoidance turn. Responding officials reported that the airplane collided with approximate 6,500-foot mean sea level terrain, about 300 feet above the lake and 1/8-mile beyond the shoreline. The airplane was at (or over) its maximum certificated gross weight. No airplane records were located. The calculated density altitude exceeded 7,100 feet.

The pilot's intentional buzzing and misjudged altitude/clearance with the nearby rising terrain. Contributing factors were the high density, the airplane's high gross weight, and the pilot's improper in-flight decisions.