Piper J3C-65 N6563H

Summary

On 4 May 1999 at about 16:00 local time, a Piper J3C-65 registered N6563H, operated by The Pilot Center, was involved in an accident near Fort Collins, Colorado, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

4 May 1999 at 16:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Fort Collins, Colorado, United States

Nearest airport

Fort Collins Downtown (3V5)

Coordinates

40.6491, -105.0306

Aircraft

Piper J3C-65

Registration

N6563H

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

The Pilot Center

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

DEN99LA069

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's inadequate compensation for wind conditions. A factor was the gusty wind conditions.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot said that the wind was from 290 degrees at 10 knots with gusts to 20 knots 'or less.' After completing the pre-takeoff checklist, the pilot turned the airplane 360 degrees to check for traffic before taxiing onto the active runway. When the airplane had made a 180 degree turn (tail directly into the wind), an 'unexpected strong gust of wind' lifted the tail and the airplane nosed down. Another wind gust caused the airplane to nose over onto its back.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.