A preliminary report by the National Transportation Safety Board doesn’t list a possible cause for a small plane crash near Payson that killed one person aboard and injured two others in January.
The report released Thursday said the pilot told NTSB investigators he decided to fly over the Mazatzal Mountain Range on the return flight to Mesa’s Falcon Field Airport on the morning of January 24.
The pilot flew about 1,000 feet above ground level over the mountains while the passengers were spotting wildlife on the terrain below.
The pilot says the airplane was running well and he doesn't remember anything else until waking up in a small creek at the accident site about 10 miles southwest of Payson.
