- Date
- July 6, 1986, 20:15 local (Jul 7, 1986, 00:15 UTC)
- Place
- Welch, WV
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N70824Piper J3C-65
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19860706030959A
- Case key
- 7142
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
Witnesses reported that the pilot had worked on the engine carburetor for some time as well as just before the accident takeoff. At about 200 feet after takeoff from rwy 27 the engine quit and the pilot made a left turn back to the rwy and tried to align the acft with rwy 9. The acft hit the ground beside the rwy and came to rest facing north. A fire erupted and the aircraft was destroyed. Fire damage prevented determining if there was a carburetor malfunction. The airport sits on a tabletop mountain with steep sides and is surrounded by dense woods.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N70824
- Reported as
- Piper J3C-65
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17840
- Engine
- Continental C-85, 85 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Sam Hazzard, Sr.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Airport
- I25 · Welch Municipal, runway 27, 2,375 × 40 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
- 53
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, Expired
- Seat
- Front
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 7 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 81 °F, dew point 64 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- BLF, 17 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.