Payson Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Payson, Arizona 85541
Sunday, November 2, 1997 8:06 MST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot stated that he had turned final for runway 24 and noticed he was a little high and hot. He said he compensated for it by lowering the nose and adding 5 additional degrees of flaps. Although the airspeed remained constant at 80 knots, he realized quickly that he was still high and fast so he entered a slip to increase the rate of descent. The pilot stated that he felt he could extend his landing even if he touched down past midpoint and decided not to go-around. He estimated that he hit the ground at 58 to 60 knots when he encountered a strong crosswind from the left, which pushed him off the runway. The aircraft subsequently came to rest against several trees. The airport manager stated that he heard the airplane touch down and 'it sounded very fast' so he looked up and saw the airplane rolling down the runway at a very fast rate of speed. The aircraft then departed the runway and collided with trees. In his written statement, the pilot reported the winds at the airport as 110 degrees at 5 knots. The winds at the closest aviation weather reporting station were 160 degrees at 7 knots.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's selection of a downwind direction to land and his failure to compensate for the quartering tailwind condition.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 11/2/1997
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 806
Event Time Zone Mountain Standard Time
Event City PAYSON
Event State ARIZONA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 85541
Event Date Year 1997
Event Date Month 11
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 Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 751 Mountain Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 295
Weather Observation Facility ID PRC
Elevation of weather observation facility 5042
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 57
Time Zone of the weather observation MST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 65
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 7
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) -5
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 160
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 7
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30
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 3
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 1761
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Nov 2 1997 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 915
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 8 2000 12:40PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N6585D
NTSB Number LAX98LA028
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 Cessna
Aircraft Model 172N
Aircraft Series Identifier 172N
Aircraft Serial Number 17272878
Certified Max Gross Weight 2150
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 Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection --
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours --
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name SOUTHWEST FLIGHT SERVICES
Aircraft Owner Street Address 15000 N. AIRPORT DR
Aircraft Owner City SCOTTSDALE
Aircraft Owner State AZ
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 85260
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 SDL
Departure City SCOTTSDALE
Departure State AZ
Departure Country
Departure Time 715
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 --