- Date
- July 29, 1990, 14:30 local (19:30 UTC)
- Place
- Clay Banks, WI
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N1455NPiper J-3 CUB
- Weather
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 28, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19900729028909A
- Case key
- 14735
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
Pilot's failure to maintain an adequate visual lookout during the descent. Contributing factors are the pilot's poor weather evaluation, and continued VFR flight into IFR conditions.
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 pilot stated that he was flying across the lake at about 500' AGL. He reported that when the aircraft crossed over the shoreline onto land 'the visibility suddenly became obscured.' The pilot performed a 180 degree turn and began to descend, intending to land his float plane on the lake along the shoreline. The aircraft collided with trees and power lines during the descent, and fell to the ground.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N1455N
- Reported as
- Piper J-3 CUB
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 22989
- Engine
- Continental C-90-8F, 90 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Noggle, Donald R.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · July 8, 1990 · 14 hours before
- Departed
- NONE · Harbor Springs, MI
- Destination
- NONE · Oshkosh, WI
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
- 49
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine sea, Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Rear
- Flight hours
- 944 total · 270 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Instrument (IMC) · Day
- Wind
- 180° at 5 knots, gusting 10
- Lowest ceiling
- 200 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 64 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.