# Accident 20160325002739A: Piper J5A, Clewiston, FL, March 25, 2016 - Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported - Date: March 25, 2016, 08:30 local time - Place: Clewiston, FL - Damage: Destroyed - Phase of flight: Maneuver - Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91) - Operator: YGXG - Location: 26.6928° N, 80.8097° W: From the FAA - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=26.6928&lon=-80.8097&mi=10 - Aircraft: N41239, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N41239-2018-08-10) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry model: Piper J5A (registry code 7100702, https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-j5a) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: Continental A&C75 series (registry code 17005, https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-a-c75-series) (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: PIPER J5A - Reported engine: CONT MOTOR A&C75 SERIES - People aboard: 1 - Fatal injuries: 0 - Other injuries: 1 - Pilot certificates: Airline transport, flight instructor - NTSB investigation: [NTSB GAA16CA166](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/GAA16CA166) (OpenAirDocs) - FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/) - Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20160325002739A ## Narrative As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^. ON MARCH 25, 2016 AT APPROXIMATELY 08:15 EASTERN DAY LIGHT SAVING TIME (EDT) I WAS NOTIFIED VIA CHAIN OF COMMAND OF AN AIRCRAFT ACCIDENT ^AT 31 EAST CORKSCREW BLVD^. CLEWISTON, FL 33440. INSPECTORS RICK SHORR, JASON MIKULAK, ROGER BUIS, AND BROOKS BATEMAN RESPONDED FROM FSDO-19 OFFICE AND ARRIVED ON SCENE AT APPROXIMATELY 10:56 A.M. EDT. UPON ARRIVAL WE WERE MET WITH PALM BEACH COUNTY FIRE RESCUE BATTALION CHIEF^ WILLIAM ROWLEY^. CHIEF ^ROWLEY^ ADVISED US THAT THE HOME OWNER HEARD THE ENGINE REV AND THEN CRASH. THE HOME OWNER DROVE A MOTORIZED CART TO THE PLANE CRASH SITE AND ASSISTED THE PILOT OUT OF THE WRECKAGE. THE HOME OWNER CALL 911 AND REPORTED THE EVENT. ONCE FIRE RESCUE ARRIVED, THE MEDICS DETERMINED THAT THIS WOULD BE A TRAUMA ALERT DUE TO HEAD INJURIES AND THE PILOT WAS EVENTUALLY AIR LIFTED VIA HELICOPTER TO ST. MARY'S HOSPITAL LOCATED IN WEST PALM BEACH, FL. I THEN NOTICED A PIPER J5A CUB, DISPLAYING N41239 IN THE NORTH WEST CORNER OF A FIELD WITH A PALM BEACH COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE PATROL CAR WITH YELLOW CRIME SCENE TAPE. WE APPROACHED THE DEPUTY SHERIFF AND HE IDENTIFIED HIMSELF AS D/S ^PAUL BELCHER (4651)^. WE IDENTIFIED OURSELVES AND DEPUTY ^BELCHER^ ALLOWED US ACCESS TO THE CRASH SITE TO CONDUCT OUR INVESTIGATION. I OBSERVED THAT THE RIGHT WING WAS ALMOST COMPLETELY DETACHED AND THE MAIN GEAR STRUTS AND TIRE FOLDED UP WARDS AND THE NOSE GEAR WAS COLLAPSED. ON THE SOUTH SIDE OF THE AIRCRAFT WERE THREE DISTINCT GROUND WITNESS MARKS. THE PROPELLER HAD ONE PROP THAT WAS SLIGHTLY BENT FORWARD AND THE OTHER WAS ALMOST STRAIGHT. ON BOTH WING LEADING EDGES SHOWED NUMEROUS DENTS. THE FLIGHT DECK AREA WAS FOR THE MOST PART WAS IN TACH AND HAD LOW VELOCITY BLOOD SPRAYED ABOUT THE FLIGHT DECK AS WELL AS BLOOD TRANSFER MARKS. THE AIRSPEED INDICATOR WAS BROKEN AT APPROXIMATELY 78 MPH. A WITNESS MARK ABOVE THE AIRSPEED INDICATOR WHICH MOST LIKELY CAME FROM THE PILOT'S HELMET WAS OBSERVED. THE AIRCRAFT WAS LOCATED AT N26-41-47 W 080-48-03 ON AN APPROXIMATE HEADING OF 090 DEGREES. NO FIRE AND NO FUEL WERE SPILLED FROM THIS CRASH. BLOOD BIOHAZARD WAS PRESENT. NUMEROUS PHOTOS WERE TAKEN BY BATEMAN AND BUIS AND SAVED ONTO A DISK AND FLASH DRIVE. ^MR. JAMES BUSBY^ THE OWNER OF THE AIRCRAFT RESPONDED TO THE CRASH SITE AND PROVIDED INFORMATION CONCERNING THE PILOT AND AIRCRAFT. BUSBY STATED THAT HE AND ANOTHER PILOT HAS FLOWN WITH ^ASHLEY^. THE PILOT IS IDENTIFIED AS ^IAN HUGH GORDON ASHLEY, W/M DOB/10/26/1947 AND RESIDES AT 610 SEA PINE WAY, APT H-1, GREEN ACRES, FL 33415. PHONE NUMBER (561)-618-5336.^ INSPECTOR SHORR TELEPHONICALLY CONTACTED ^ASHLEY^ AND FOUND OUT HE HAD BEEN RELEASED FROM THE HOSPITAL AND WAS HOME AND AGREED TO SPEAK TO US. AT APPROXIMATELY 12:33 P.M. EDT I CONTACTED NTSB INVESTIGATOR ROBERT "BOB" GREETS AND OBTAINED A RELEASE OF THE AIRCRAFT SO THAT BUSBY COULD REMOVE THE AIRCRAFT. AT APPROXIMATELY 3:05 P.M. EDT WE DROVE TO ^610 SEA PINE WAY, APT H1, GREEN ACRES, FL 33415^ AND MET WITH ^ASHLEY^. ^ASHLEY^ STATED HE DIDN'T REMEMBER ANYTHING. I ASKED HIM IF HE REMEMBERED GETTING UP IN THE MORNING AND HE STATED THAT HE DID. I THEN ASKED HIM TO THINK BACK AND EXPLAIN WHAT HE HAD DONE THAT MORNING AND ^ASHLEY^ WAS ABLE TO REMEMBERED THAT IT WAS SMOOTH AIR, AND THAT THERE WAS SOME LIGHT MIST AS HE WAS WEARING YELLOW GLASSES AND THAT HE WAS CHASING BIRDS FOR CORN HARVESTING, HE HAD MADE A WEST TO EAST PAST AND WAS FLYING AT TEN FEET ABOVE THE GROUND AND DOESN'T REMEMBER THE CRASH. ^ASHLEY^ NEXT MEMORY WAS BEING LOADED INTO A HELICOPTER AND BEING FLOWN. SEQUENCE OF CRASH EVENTS: ^ASHLEY^ WAS HIRED AS A PRIVATE CONTRACTOR TO CHASE BIRDS DURING HARVESTING OF CORN. ^ASHLEY^ HAD COMPLETED A TURN FROM WEST TO EAST AND WAS FLYING WEST BOUND AT APPROXIMATELY 10 FEET. ^ASHLEY^ THEN MADE A LOW LEVEL LEFT HAND TURN. ^ASHLEY^ WAS WEARING A SCOTT HELMET AND SEAT BELT THAT MOST LIKELY SAVED HIS LIFE. BASED ON ACCIDENT SCENE OBSERVATION AND DISCUSSION WITH ^ASHLEY^ (AIRMAN) THE AIRCRAFT MAY HAVE STALLED. ## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1) From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. - [NTSB GAA16CA166](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/GAA16CA166), Mar 25, 2016: Piper J5A (N41239), Lake Harbor, FL, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot's exceedance of the critical angle of attack while maneuvering at low altitude, which resulted in an accelerated aerodynamic stall, spin, and impact with terrain. From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft 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. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.