20060325003329I

Incident

FAA incident report · Piper J3C-65 · Sassamansville, PA · March 25, 2006

Date: March 25, 2006 · 15:25 local
Place: Sassamansville, PA
Airport: Crosswinds Airfield Airport
Phase of flight: Final Approach
Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
Aircraft: N40970
Reported as: Piper J3C65
People aboard: 1
Fatal injuries: 0
Pilot’s flight hours: 809 total24 in this make and model21 in the last 90 days

N40970Registered now · Piper J3C-65S/N 7667 · Built 1941 Airframe modelPiper J3C-65 Engine modelContinental A&C65 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.

(-23) The pilot was making a normal approach to landing on runway 20. On short final approach he noticed a "restraining" effect on the aircraft for a second or two, then a "releasing" sensation. He continued to make a normal landing. After parking and exiting the aircraft, he noticed sparks and a fire in the grass in the area of his final approach on the grass runway. It was an electrical cable that he had contacted and subsquently cut with the landing gear of the aircraft. No damage was suffered to the aircraft.

As the FAA filed it

(-23) THE PILOT WAS MAKING A NORMAL APPROACH TO LANDING ON RUNWAY 20. ON SHORT FINAL APPROACH HE NOTICED A "RESTRAINING" EFFECT ON THE AIRCRAFT FOR A SECOND OR TWO, THEN A "RELEASING" SENSATION. HE CONTINUED TO MAKE A NORMAL LANDING. AFTER PARKING AND EXITING THE AIRCRAFT, HE NOTICED SPARKS AND A FIRE IN THE GRASS IN THE AREA OF HIS FINAL APPROACH ON THE GRASS RUNWAY. IT WAS AN ELECTRICAL CABLE THAT HE HAD CONTACTED AND SUBSQUENTLY CUT WITH THE LANDING GEAR OF THE AIRCRAFT. NO DAMAGE WAS SUFFERED TO THE AIRCRAFT.