- Date
- October 8, 1985, 08:45 local (15:45 UTC)
- Place
- Payson, AZ
- Injuries
- 2 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N44207Piper PA-28-151
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19851008049659A
- Case key
- 24873
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The passenger had a 10:00 medical appointment at the destination arot on the day of the accident. The non-instrument rated, recently certificated pvt plt, requested and received a weather briefing for a proposed VFR flt at 7500 ft MSL from mesa to holbrook, AZ. The weather briefing was adequate for the flt. The plt encountered a localized severe weather phenomona which included cumulus build-ups, clouds down to the ground, rain and gusty surface winds. Witnesses at the accident site reported hearing the acft and the impact sounds, but could not find the acft wreckage 'until the clouds lifted.' The acft impacted the side of a cliff-like mountain feature at the 7360 foot MSL level in a 31 degree descent angle in a 118 degree right roll.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N44207
- Reported as
- Piper PA-28-151
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 28-7415602
- Airframe hours
- 2,375
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-E3D, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Warrior Enterprises, Inc
- Registered owner
- Roger B. Putnam
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · July 3, 1985 · 96 hours before
- Departed
- FFZ · Mesa, AZ
- Destination
- P14 · Holbrook, AZ
- Flight plan
- VFR
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 39
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 178 total · 6 in this make and model · 133 as pilot in command · 23 in the last 90 days · 13 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Wind
- 200° at 30 knots, gusting 40
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.