19970407009319I

Incident · Minor damage

FAA incident report · Piper J3F-65 · Columbus, NE · April 7, 1997

Date: April 7, 1997 · 16:30 local
Place: Columbus, NE
Phase of flight: Ground Taxi, Other Airplane
Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
Damage: Minor damage
Aircraft: N32946
Reported as: Piper J3F65
People aboard: 1
Fatal injuries: 0
Pilot’s flight hours: 10,000 total2,000 in this make and model75 in the last 90 days

N32946Registered now · Piper J3F-65S/N 5730 · Built 1940 Airframe modelPiper J3F-65 Engine modelFranklin 4AC176B seriesReciprocating

From the FAA’s Accident/Incident Data System (AIDS), through its Aviation Safety Information Portal, as reported. The NTSB investigates accidents separately, and its record of an accident is the fuller one. The aircraft is matched to the registry by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

What happened

The FAA’s narrative, in sentence case. The FAA writes it in capitals and removes private details.

Narrative: the owner/pilot stated he was on a local pleasure flight. He said he landed in a farm field at a farm residence to visit a friend. He had landed at this field on numerous occasions. As the pilot taxied from the field to the buildings, the airplane was hit by what the pilot described as a whirlwind or dust devil. He said the left wing came up. He added power and left rudder to straighten the airplane. The pilot said he was now headed toward an irrigation pump. Since he was about to hit the pump, the pilot tried to jump the airplane over the pump. He said the left main landing gear hit the discharge head of the pump. The left main gear was broken. Damage was limited to the left main landing gear, left wing tip, and propeller. There was no other property damage. This incident is closed with this report.

As the FAA filed it

NARRATIVE: THE OWNER/PILOT STATED HE WAS ON A LOCAL PLEASURE FLIGHT. HE SAID HE LANDED IN A FARM FIELD AT A FARM RESIDENCE TO VISIT A FRIEND. HE HAD LANDED AT THIS FIELD ON NUMEROUS OCCASIONS. AS THE PILOT TAXIED FROM THE FIELD TO THE BUILDINGS, THE AIRPLANE WAS HIT BY WHAT THE PILOT DESCRIBED AS A WHIRLWIND OR DUST DEVIL. HE SAID THE LEFT WING CAME UP. HE ADDED POWER AND LEFT RUDDER TO STRAIGHTEN THE AIRPLANE. THE PILOT SAID HE WAS NOW HEADED TOWARD AN IRRIGATION PUMP. SINCE HE WAS ABOUT TO HIT THE PUMP, THE PILOT TRIED TO JUMP THE AIRPLANE OVER THE PUMP. HE SAID THE LEFT MAIN LANDING GEAR HIT THE DISCHARGE HEAD OF THE PUMP. THE LEFT MAIN GEAR WAS BROKEN. DAMAGE WAS LIMITED TO THE LEFT MAIN LANDING GEAR, LEFT WING TIP, AND PROPELLER. THERE WAS NO OTHER PROPERTY DAMAGE. THIS INCIDENT IS CLOSED WITH THIS REPORT.