Payson Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Payson, Arizona 85541
Monday, July 8, 1996 MST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot returned to his home base airport during nighttime conditions. He observed a herd of elk near the approach end of the runway, overflew them, and landed on the remaining runway. During rollout the airplane collided with two elk from another herd. The pilot reported that he was aware elk and other animals had unrestricted access to the runway since no fence surrounded the airport. A notice indicating that occurrence had been published in the FAA Airport/Facility Directory. The Payson police department reported detecting the odor of an intoxicating beverage on the pilot's breath. The pilot reported that about 1830 the previous evening he drank a couple of beers while in Laughlin, Nevada. The police administered a field sobriety and a portable breath test (PBT) on the pilot at 0304. The PBT sample produced results at the 0.03 percent level.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

animals on the runway. A factor was the dark night.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 7/8/1996
Event Day of the Week Monday
Time of Event 15
Event Time Zone Mountain Standard Time
Event City PAYSON
Event State ARIZONA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 85541
Event Date Year 1996
Event Date Month 7
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport PAYSON
Event Location Nearest Airport ID E69
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 5157
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Pilot
Time of the weather observation 0
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 0
Weather Observation Facility ID
Elevation of weather observation facility 0
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 0
Time Zone of the weather observation
Lighting Conditions Night/Dark
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 11000
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Scattered
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 40
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 16
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) --
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 0
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 0
Wind Velocity Indicator Calm
Wind Gust Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) --
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 2
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 1424
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Jul 8 1996 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1320
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 8 2000 10:12AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N6715N
NTSB Number LAX96LA268
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Mooney
Aircraft Model M20C
Aircraft Series Identifier M20C
Aircraft Serial Number 680047
Certified Max Gross Weight 2575
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 4
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Retractable
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Aug 26 1995 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 104
Airframe Hours 1781
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name LARRY K. AYERS
Aircraft Owner Street Address 708 N. MCLANE ROAD
Aircraft Owner City PAYSON
Aircraft Owner State AZ
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 85541
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address
Operator City
Operator State
Operator Country
Operator Zip code
Operator Code
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation Unknown
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code IFP
Departure City BULLHEAD CITY
Departure State AZ
Departure Country
Departure Time 2215
Departure Time Zone MST
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code E69
Destination City
Destination State
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Landing
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 2 2001 10:34AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 24
Runway Length 5500
Runway Width 75
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --