- Date
- July 27, 1993, 19:39 local (Jul 28, 1993, 01:39 UTC)
- Place
- Meeker, CO
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 1 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N33111Piper J3C-90
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Status
- Completed · report September 13, 1994
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19930727025779A
- Case key
- 11098
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
Failure of the pilot to maintain adequate terrain clearance. A factor was the intentional low pass performed by the pilot in command.
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
Witnesses said the airplane made a low pass over a tractor being operated by the pilot's brother. The airplane then descended into an irrigation ditch. The landing gear struck the ditch and the airplane came to rest inverted.
Factual narrative
On July 27, 1993, at approximately 1939 mountain daylight time, a Piper J3C-90, N33111, collided with terrain while maneuvering near Meeker, Colorado. The airplane was destroyed and the private pilot was seriously injured. The passenger sustained minor injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the local personal flight.
The pilot had no recollection of the events surrounding the accident. Witnesses, however, revealed the following information during interviews conducted by Federal Aviation Administration inspectors and local authorities. The airplane approached from the east end of a hay field where one of the witnesses, the pilot's brother, was operating a tractor. The airplane passed over the tractor at approximately 75 feet, then descended into an irrigation ditch. The main gear struck the other side of the ditch and the airplane came to rest inverted.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N33111
- Reported as
- Piper J3C-90
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 5829
- Airframe hours
- 4,498
- Engine
- Continental C-90-12F, 90 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Sullivan, Kelly O.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · August 28, 1992 · 12 hours before
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
- 36
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Expired
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 1,250 total · 390 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 75 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.