- Date
- July 2, 1999, 14:00 local (19:00 UTC)
- Place
- Independence, IA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Unknown
- Aircraft
- N3371NPiper J-3C
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report January 18, 2001
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19990702008169A
- Case key
- 46694
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 insufficient information from the weather forecast resulting in an in-flight encounter with turbulence/gusts and the subsequent precautionary landing. Contributing factors were the gusty/turbulent conditions and the terrain condition (crop).
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 reported she encountered severe turbulence and wind gusts of 40 to 50 knots about 10 miles from her destination airport. She reported it became difficult to control the airplane and she reported she decided to put the airplane on the ground before she lost all control. The pilot reported the weather conditions that existed near the destination airport had not been forecast when she had checked the weather about 2.5 hours prior to the accident. She attempted to land the airplane in an oat field. The airplane was traveling about 30 mph over the ground when the airplane impacted the oat field. The airplane traveled about 10 feet when the airplane went up on its nose and sustained substantial damage.
Factual narrative
On July 2, 1999, at 1400 central daylight time, a Piper J-3C, N3371N, was substantially damaged when it nosed over in an oat field during a precautionary landing. The private pilot reported that she encountered high winds and wind shear and decided to make a precautionary landing to the oat field located four miles northwest of Independence, Iowa. During landing rollout the airplane went up on its nose. The private pilot was not injured. The 14 CFR Part 91 flight had departed Hutchinson Municipal Airport, Hutchinson, Minnesota, en route to the Independence Municipal Airport, Independence, Iowa. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan had been filed.
The pilot reported that she encountered severe turbulence and 40 to 50 knots wind gusts about 10 miles from Independence, Iowa. She reported it became difficult to control the airplane. She reported she decided to put the airplane on the ground before she lost all control.
The pilot reported the weather conditions that existed near the destination airport had not been forecast when she had checked the weather about 2.5 hours prior to the accident.
She reported she attempted to land the airplane in an oat field. She reported the airplane was traveling about 30 mph over the ground when the airplane impacted the oat field. The airplane traveled about 10 feet when the airplane went up on its nose and sustained substantial damage.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N3371N
- Reported as
- Piper J-3C
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 22571
- Airframe hours
- 1,313
- Engine
- Continental C-90-8F, 90 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Joseph Dooley
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 16, 1999 · 18 hours before
- Departed
- HCD · Hutchinson, MN
- Destination
- IIB
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
- 44
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Rear
- Flight hours
- 539 total · 200 in this make and model · 487 as pilot in command · 14 in the last 90 days · 6 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 180° at 40 knots, gusting 50
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 4,500 ft overcast
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.