I was not at Wurtsboro that day but have flown there almost 20 years and knew
the pilot in question. He was conscientious but lacked cross-country
experience. He was attempting to fly "local" triangles between Wurtsboro,
Monticello and Ellenville -- only a 35-mile course, but fully two-thirds over
unlandable terrain.

One of the difficulties in flying at Wurtsboro is that in the NW quadrant,
where conditions are often best, one has to go about 10 miles (over rising
terrain) before a decent choice of fields opens up.

In my estimation, his sad mistake was likely to recognize, far too late, that
he was low and needed a place to land. The terrain beneath him was ~800 ft
higher than Wurtsboro's field elevation, and with very poor field selection.
Actually there are a couple of so-so fields within reach, but they may not have
been obvious or even visible from his [presumed] low height.

Improving XC experience, situational awareness and possibly local knowledge are
the keys to preventing similar accidents. I don't think the drag chute was
causative, but that's just my opinion.





Mike Yankee

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