rest upside-down amid the trees, cameras still filming as the dazed pilot and passengers got themselves out of the wreckage. "My estimation of the density altitude was about 2,000 feet off," Gropp said, noting that he had taken instruction in mountain flying and logged about 300 hours in general aviation aircraft, including the Stinson he purchased in 2010, in the past four years. Many of those flights were to backcountry destinations. Gropp said the decision to attempt the takeoff despite climbing temperatures that pushed the density altitude well above the airport elevation of 6,370 feet "was not the best decision of my life," and he should have ferried his passengers to their next destination -- about 45 minutes away, with 6,108 feet of paved runway -- one at a time. The vintage POH did not make performance calculations easy, Gropp said, and he thinks they can be improved to provide critical information in a clearer format. Critics have not been shy about taking Gropp to task for various decisions, including an attempted liftoff at altitude with a fully enriched mixture, and failure to abort the takeoff once the ground roll stretched to excessive length. Gropp was reluctant to discuss the particulars in detail, but said he was aware of the criticism leveled by online viewers. He did not offer an opinion on the public reaction. "Everything's been said with the movie," Gropp said. Unexpected fame Pilot Les Gropp, captured by video cameras as he attempted an ill-fated takeoff in Idaho