Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Big Creek, Idaho 83677
Thursday, September 17, 1998 9:00 MDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot was on short final to the non-identified mountain landing site when a cow elk moved out of the trees/bushes into the approach area. The pilot flattened his descent to glide over the animal, readjusted his descent with the addition of power when clear, but landed hard on the 1,100 foot long gravel/turf site. The landing site is unidirectional and the density altitude was estimated to be at least 4,110 feet.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

An animal (cow elk) that had wandered onto the airport.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 9/17/1998
Event Day of the Week Thursday
Time of Event 900
Event Time Zone Mountain Daylight Time
Event City BIG CREEK
Event State IDAHO
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 83677
Event Date Year 1998
Event Date Month 9
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport
Event Location Nearest Airport ID
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Unknown
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 4110
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 850 Mountain Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 232
Weather Observation Facility ID MYL
Elevation of weather observation facility 5023
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 51
Time Zone of the weather observation MDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Unknown
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 11
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 9
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 0
Variable Wind Indicator Variable
Wind Speed (knots) 3
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29
Density Altitude (feet) 5631
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 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 1502
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Oct 5 1998 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1500
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 11 2000 11:47AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N7179E
NTSB Number SEA98LA194
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 182B
Aircraft Series Identifier 182B
Aircraft Serial Number 52179
Certified Max Gross Weight 2650
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 Jan 16 1998 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 90
Airframe Hours 4600
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name SMITH, LONG & FULTZ
Aircraft Owner Street Address 8049 WEST BECKTON LANE
Aircraft Owner City BOISE
Aircraft Owner State ID
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 83714
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name FULTZ, JAMES, D.
Operator Same as Owner? No
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address 9400 GALLOWAY ROAD
Operator City MIDDLETON
Operator State ID
Operator Country
Operator Zip code 83644
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
Departure City MIDDLETON
Departure State ID
Departure Country
Departure Time 745
Departure Time Zone MDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code
Destination City
Destination State
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight --
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 27
Runway Length 1100
Runway Width 30
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --