- Date
- July 16, 1985, 15:00 local (19:00 UTC)
- Place
- Stockbridge, GA
- Injuries
- 2 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N909GHWag-Aero Cubbie (J-3)
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19850716031869A
- Case key
- 6831
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
During a departure, the eng had a partial loss of power. The plt reported that after climbing to about 75 ft, neither the acft's speed nor alt would increase. He lowered the nose to increase the eng RPM & speed, but the eng did not respond. Subsequently, the left wing hit a tree & the acft crashed into another tree & the ground. The plt stated that during the takeoff roll, the acft had not accelerated to its takeoff speed at the midpoint of the 3000 ft rwy, yet he continued the takeoff roll. An exam revealed that the compression ring on the #1 piston was frozen in compression. No other pre-accident part failure or malfunction was found.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N909GH
- Reported as
- Wag-Aero Cubbie (J-3) (CUBBIE (J-)
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 1077
- Airframe hours
- 130
- Engine
- Continental A-65, 65 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Joseph B. Gardner
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 8, 1984 · 62 hours before
- Airport
- Berry Hill, runway 21, 3,000 × 30 ft, asphalt
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 61
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Center
- Flight hours
- 949 total · 150 in this make and model · 21 in the last 90 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 270° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N909GH · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.