- Date
- June 28, 1988, 17:30 local (21:30 UTC)
- Place
- Whitsett, NC
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N2875YPiper J3C-65
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 3, 1989
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19880628023899A
- Case key
- 7779
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
The plt reported that the engine lost power during initial climb at 150 ft AGL. He attempted to make a 180 deg turn back to the arpt; the airplane crashed at about the 180 deg point. Post-crash exam of the engine revealed no evidence of mechanical failure or malfunction. No evidence of fuel contamination was found. The operator reported that the acft was stc'd for autogas & was fueled w/ a 50/50 mix of avgas and autogas. He noted that he had advised the plt just prior to departure that the engine was prone to carb ice and that conditions were favorable for carb ice formation. He subsequently observed that the plt allowed the engine to idle for several minutes prior to beginning the t/o roll. Exam of icing probability curves revealed that reported wx conditions were favorable for serious icing at glide pwr settings. FAA advisory circular 91-33A notes that FAA testing has indicated that carb ice will occur faster and at higher temps w/ autogas than avgas.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N2875Y
- Reported as
- Piper J3C-65
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 22384
- Engine
- Continental A-65-8, 65 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- William F. Via
- Registered owner
- Via, William F
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Airport
- NC19 · Meadowlark Gliderport, runway 18, 2,000 × 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
- 29
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 320 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 250° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 82 °F, dew point 55 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- GSO
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.