Piper J3L N24502

Summary

On 8 May 2010 at about 23:00 local time, a Piper J3L registered N24502 was involved in an accident near Kyle, South Dakota, United States. One person was 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

8 May 2010 at 23:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Kyle, South Dakota, United States

Nearest airport

Private (PVT)

Coordinates

43.3981, -102.1856

Aircraft

Piper J3L

Registration

N24502

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Kyle → Kyle

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN10CA244

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's improper touchdown on a soft landing area, resulting in a nose over.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot of the tailwheel-equipped airplane said that all three wheels were about to touch the ground during landing when he realized that the "field was softer than expected." He pulled the stick back to the stop and "was not able to apply throttle quick enough to keep tail pressure down." The airplane then nosed over resulting in substantial damage to the airplane. The pilot's report did not list any mechanical malfunctions with the airplane reference the accident flight.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.