# Accident 20160911017559A: Piper PA-18, Greenville, MI, September 11, 2016

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: September 11, 2016, 15:58 local time
- Place: Greenville, MI
- Airport: Greenville Municipal
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Takeoff: Climb Out
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 43.1392° N, 85.2561° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=43.1392&lon=-85.2561&mi=10
- Aircraft: N3286Z (not matched to a registry record)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA-18
- Reported engine: CONT MOTOR C90 SERIES
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 2
- Pilot certificates: Private pilot
- Pilot flight hours: 361 total, 227 in this make and model, 32 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB CEN16LA366](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN16LA366) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20160911017559A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

ON SEPTEMBER 11, 2016 AT 15:58 EASTERN DAYLIGHT TIME (EDT), A PIPER PA-18 AIRCRAFT, N3286Z, ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ OPERATED BY A PRIVATE PILOT FOR A PERSONAL FLIGHT RECEIVED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE WHEN IT STRUCK THE GROUND AT THE SOUTH END OF RUNWAY 36 WHILE MANEUVERING AFTER DEPARTING FROM RUNWAY 28.

VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS AND LIGHT WINDS PREVAILED AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT. THE PRIVATE FLIGHT WAS BEING CONDUCTED UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF TITLE 14 CODE OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS (CFR) PART 91 WITHOUT A FLIGHT PLAN.  THE PILOT AND PASSENGER WERE SERIOUSLY INJURED. THE FLIGHT ORIGINATED FROM GREENVILLE MUNICIPAL AIRPORT (6D6), GREENVILLE, MI AT APPROXIMATELY 15:57 EDT.

THE PILOT STATED THAT HE DEPARTED RUNWAY 28 WITH FULL FUEL AND MADE A LEFT TURN PRIOR TO THE END OF THE RUNWAY AND FOUND HE WAS UNABLE TO CLEAR THE TREES SOUTH WEST OF THE AIRPORT.  HE STALLED THE AIRCRAFT OVER THE TURF RUNWAY AND RECOVERED BUT  SUBSEQUENTLY STALLED AGAIN  AND IMPACTED THE GROUND AT THE APPROACH END OF RUNWAY 36.

WEATHER AT KGRR AIRPORT AT 15:53 WAS: WIND 290 DEGREES AT 3 KNOTS, VISIBILITY 10 STATUTE MILES, 5500 BROKEN, TEMP 23 DEW POINT 08 AND ALTIMETER 3018.

## 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 CEN16LA366](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN16LA366), Sep 11, 2016: Piper PA 18 (N3286Z), Greenville, MI, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot's premature turn during the takeoff climb and subsequent turn to avoid trees, which resulted in his exceedance of the airplane’s critical angle-of-attack and a subsequent aerodynamic stall.

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.

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