I have flown into and out of Sampley's a few times. The terrain at Sampley's rises to the east and falls to the west. Heading west, you are over slightly falling terrain with open fields for landing. On an easterly departure, you may be at an indicated 200 feet above take-off but may only be 100' over terrain. Straight-ahead landing options are not very enticing to the east once you've passed the end of the strip, so a turn back from an indicated 200' may seem like the best option.

Since we have no direct eyewitness reports, we don't know how high he was at disconnect, but Sampley's towplane is a powerful and fast climber.

The Zuni was equipped with a logger, so maybe that will throw some more light onto it.

A bit of a shadow on us all.

Mike