Piper J3C-65 N3453K

Summary

On 4 October 2021 at about 19:00 local time, a Piper J3C-65 registered N3453K was involved in an accident near Garberville, California, 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 October 2021 at 19:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Garberville, California, United States

Nearest airport

Garberville (O16)

Coordinates

40.0854, -123.8141

Aircraft

Piper J3C-65

Registration

N3453K

Category

Airplane

Year built

1946

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR22LA008

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to maintain directional control during the landing roll, which resulted in a runway excursion and subsequent collision with an unoccupied parked airplane.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot was landing the tailwheel-equipped airplane when the accident occurred. He reported that, after conducting a wheel landing, the airplane veered to the right as the tailwheel touched down. He attempted to abort the landing; however, the airplane did not have enough airspeed and exited the right side of the runway, where it impacted an unoccupied parked airplane. Postaccident examination of the airplane’s tailwheel revealed that when installed on the airplane, it remained within the steering detents. When sufficient force was applied, the tailwheel traveled beyond the detent to the left; however, it did not travel beyond the detent to the right. In addition to the tailwheel spring clip, a braided portion of safety wire was attached to the steering arm and connector spring assembly. Once removed, the tailwheel functioned normally. Disassembly of the tailwheel did not reveal any preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions that would have precluded normal operation. It is likely that, while the tailwheel assembly was connected to airplane, the safety wire installed between the steering arm and connector spring assembly would not allow the tailwheel to rotate beyond the detent when moved to the right. However, the tailwheel not traveling beyond the detent to a full-swivel condition would not have prevented the pilot from maintaining direction control while landing.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.