- Date
- June 9, 1985, 11:16 local (15:16 UTC)
- Place
- Gaylord, MI
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Taxi
- Aircraft
- N6544HPiper J-3
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19850609023569A
- Case key
- 13093
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 attempt to take the float plane across a lake in wind that was from 270 deg at 20 gusting 40 KTS. Subsequently, the acft capsized & was damaged. In a revised statement, the plt reported that he was 'sailing' (letting the wind blow the acft) across the lake for mooring without the eng running; but when winds threatened to cause loss of control, he started the eng by propping it. He said that as he shifted his position from the float back to the cockpit, the wind caught a wing & turned the acft over.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N6544H
- Reported as
- Piper J-3
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 19736
- Airframe hours
- 3,000
- Engine
- Continental C-85-AF, 65 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- William C. Gnegy Jr.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 15, 1985
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
- 27
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Single-engine sea
- Medical
- Class 3, Unknown
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 2,000 total · 400 in this make and model · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Wind
- 270° at 20 knots, gusting 40
- Visibility
- 2 statute miles
- Temperature
- 70 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- GLR, 5 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.
Other investigations on N6544H · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.