Piper J3C-65 N33554

Summary

On 5 July 2010 at about 15:00 local time, a Piper J3C-65 registered N33554 was involved in an accident near Warrenton, Virginia, 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

5 July 2010 at 15:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Warrenton, Virginia, United States

Nearest airport

Flying Circus Aerodrome (3VA3)

Coordinates

38.5503, -77.7158

Aircraft

Piper J3C-65

Registration

N33554

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Warrenton → Warrenton

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA10CA355

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's improper flare during a precautionary landing, which resulted in a hard landing.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

According to the pilot, he was taking off from runway 2, a 2,000-foot-long, 150-foot wide, turf runway. About halfway down the runway, at an altitude of 80 to 100 feet above ground level, the pilot realized that the airplane "was not climbing particularly well." The pilot elected to perform a precautionary landing because the airplane was not going to clear trees located near the end of the runway. He turned the airplane and attempted to land it in a field to the right of the grass strip. The pilot stated that he had a "rough landing," substantially damaging the left wing of the airplane. The pilot further stated the preflight and engine run-up were "good" before the accident flight. He commented that the decreased performance of the airplane was due to the hot and humid day, the airplane was full of fuel, and he had a passenger in the airplane. The pilot noted that his total flight experience was approximately 200 hours; of which, about 125 hours were in the same make and model as the accident airplane. The recorded weather at an airport located 2 miles north of the accident site, included winds from 300 degrees at 7 knots, clear skies, and a temperature of 33 degrees C.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.