- Date
- November 28, 1991, 16:30 local (21:30 UTC)
- Place
- Statesville, NC
- Injuries
- 1 minor, 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N35535Piper J-3
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report April 23, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19911128053739A
- Case key
- 8548
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The NTSB’s determination of the probable cause, and any contributing factors.
Loss of engine power for undetermined reasons. A factor was the lack of a suitable landing site.
Analysis
The pilot reported that after take off, at 300-400 feet, the engine began vibrating & lost power. He landed in the tops of trees to avoid a stall and the airplane fell to the ground. According to him the engine was running but was not producing thrust. It was his opinion that the crankshaft had broken. The engine was not made available for additional examination.
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.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N35535
- Reported as
- Piper J-3
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 6440
- Airframe hours
- 6,154
- Engine
- Continental C-85-12, 85 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Rhyne, Jerry R.
- Registered owner
- Rhyne, R. Raeford
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · November 9, 1991 · 3 hours before
- Airport
- Raeford Rhyne, runway 2, 2,500 × 150 ft, grass/turf
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
- 40
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Expired
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 450 total · 350 in this make and model · 350 as pilot in command · 2 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 190° at 9 knots
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 63 °F, dew point 21 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- INT, 40 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.