# Accident 20170102000209A: Cessna T210K, Payson, AZ, January 2, 2017 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: January 2, 2017, 09:37 local time - Place: Payson, AZ - Airport: Payson Airport - Damage: Destroyed - Phase of flight: Cruise/Level Flight - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Location: 34.4297° N, 111.2778° W: From the FAA - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=34.4297&lon=-111.2778&mi=10 - Aircraft: N272EF, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N272EF-2018-03-21) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Cessna T210K (registry code 2073447, https://openairdocs.org/model/cessna-t210k) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: Continental IO-520 series (registry code 17032, https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-io-520-series) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: CESSNA T210K - Reported engine: CONT MOTOR IO 520 SERIES - People aboard: 4 - Fatal injuries: 4 - Other injuries: 0 - Pilot certificates: Private pilot - Pilot flight hours: 6 in the last 90 days - NTSB investigation: [NTSB WPR17FA045](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR17FA045) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20170102000209A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. ON JANUARY 2, 2017, A CESSNA T210K, N272EF, IMPACTED MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN NORTH OF PAYSON, AZ, AT AN ELEVATION OF 6,601 FEET. THE MOUNTAINS ARE PART OF A TALL ESCARPMENT, THE MOGOLLON RIM, THAT REACHES AN ELEVATION OF BETWEEN 7,900 AND 8,000 FEET AND RISES 1,500 TO 2,000 FEET ABOVE THE SURROUNDING LOWER TERRAIN. THE PILOT DEPARTED THE SCOTTSDALE, AZ AIRPORT (KSDL) AT 0912 LOCAL TIME WITH FULL FUEL FOR TELLURIDE, CO (KTEX) AS HIS DESTINATION. THE AIRPLANE COLLIDED WITH TERRAIN AT APPROXIMATELY 0937 WITH THE PILOT AND HIS THREE PASSENGERS FATALLY INJURED. WEATHER CONDITIONS AT PAYSON AIRPORT, WHICH HAS A FIELD ELEVATION OF 5,157 FEET, WAS REPORTED AS IMC WITH A CLOUD LAYER FROM 300 FEET AGL TO 9500 FEET MSL. THE DEW POINT AND TEMPERATURE SPREAD WAS 1 TO 2 DEGREES INDICATING ICING CONDITIONS. LOCAL RESIDENTS LIVING BELOW THE CRASH SITE ALSO STATED MOUNTAIN OBSCURATION AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT. AERONAUTICAL CHARTS FOR VISUAL FLIGHT RULES (VFR) FLIGHTS DEPICT A MAXIMUM ELEVATION FIGURE (MEF) OF 8,400 FEET FOR SAFE OBSTACLE CLEARANCE IN THAT QUADRANT. NO FLIGHT PLAN WAS FILED AND THE PILOT DID NOT OBTAIN A WEATHER BRIEFING FROM OFFICIAL SOURCES. THE PRIVATE PILOT WAS NOT INSTRUMENT RATED. AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL (ATC) RADAR DATA SHOWS THAT AFTER DEPARTING SDL THE AIRCRAFT MADE A GRADUAL CLIMB TO AN APPARENT CRUISING ALTITUDE OF 7,200 FEET MSL AND THEN HIGHER TO 7,950 FEET MSL. THIS ALTITUDE DID NOT REMAIN CONSTANT, HOWEVER. SEVERAL TIMES PRIOR TO IMPACT WITH TERRAIN, THE AIRCRAFT DESCENDED FOLLOWED BY A CLIMB, EACH SUBSEQUENT CLIMB LOWER THAN THE ONE BEFORE IT. THESE DESCENTS VARIED FROM A FEW HUNDRED FEET TO AS MUCH AS 1300 FEET. AT NO TIME DID THE PILOT ALTER HIS HEADING. THE INITIAL IMPACT POINT (IIP) CONSISTED OF A 50 FOOT TALL TREE WHICH TORE ONE OF THE ELEVATORS OFF. TREES FURTHER UPSLOPE TORE THE WINGS FROM THE FUSELAGE AND 40 FEET BEYOND THE IIP A HEAVY GROUND SCAR WAS OBSERVERD SURROUNDED BY SECTIONS OF THE WINGS, ELEVATORS AND SMALLER AIRPLANE FRAGMENTS AS WELL AS BROKEN BRANCHES AND LOOSE DIRT. BOTH WINGS HAD BROKEN OFF IMMEDIATELY OUTBOARD OF THE MOUNTING POINTS, THE VERTICAL STABILIZER AND RUDDER WAS SEPARATED FROM THE FUSELAGE EXCEPT BY CONTROL CABLES. EIGHTY FEET BEYOND THE IIP THE FUSELAGE CAME TO REST AT AN UPWARD ANGLE WITH THE ENGINE DETACHED AND LAYING JUST FORWARD OF THE MAIN CABIN. OF THE PROPELLER?S THREE BLADES, TWO WERE STILL ATTACHED TO THE HUB AND ONE WAS RESTING DOWN SLOPE IN THE GROUND SCAR. THE PROPELLER BLADES DAMAGE WAS CONSISTENT WITH SIGNIFICANT ENGINE POWER AT THE TIME OF IMPACT. ## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1) From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. - [NTSB WPR17FA045](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR17FA045), Jan 2, 2017: Cessna T210K (N272EF), Payson, AZ, destroyed, 4 fatal. Probable cause: The non-instrument-rated pilot's improper decisions to begin and to continue a flight under visual flight rules into instrument meteorological conditions, which resulted in controlled flight into… ## Other reports on N272EF (1) Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date. - [Accident 20130703013289A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20130703013289A), Jul 3, 2013: Cessna T210K (N272EF), Mesa, AZ, Substantial damage. Pilot was flying aircraft from kffz to kchd. Upon landing into chandler it was noted that the left gear would not transition to down and lock. After several… From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.