Piper J3C N7039H

Summary

On 30 January 2017 at about 21:48 local time, a Piper J3C registered N7039H was involved in an accident near Brenham, Texas, 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

30 January 2017 at 21:48

Classification

Accident

Location

Brenham, Texas, United States

Nearest airport

Brenham Muni (11R)

Coordinates

30.2197, -96.3744

Aircraft

Piper J3C

Registration

N7039H

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Brenham → Waco

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN17LA093

Nobody was injured.

The reciprocating engine's exhaust valve being stuck in the “open” position, which resulted in a partial loss of engine power during initial climb.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The student pilot and flight instructor were conducting a personal flight. The flight instructor reported that the pretakeoff checks were "normal" but that, during the takeoff, the engine felt "weak" and that the engine lost power during the initial climb. The flight instructor conducted a forced landing to a field, during which the airplane impacted the top of a tree and then the ground. Examination of the airplane revealed that the exhaust valve for the No. 4 cylinder was stuck in the "open" position possibly due to excessive deposits from the combustion process. It is likely that the stuck exhaust valve resulted in the partial loss of engine power reported by the flight instructor.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.