- Date
- June 6, 2009, 18:30 local (22:30 UTC)
- Place
- Alamana, FL
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N42351Piper J3C-65
- Defining event
- Landing-landing roll: Nose over/nose down
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 10, 2009
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties
- FAA/ FSDO
- Case key
- 73996
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 pilot's selection of unsuitable terrain for landing.
Findings · 3
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The pilot and a passenger flew to a privately-owned airport. The pilot circled the airport and made a low pass to view the runway condition. The pilot noticed that the turf runway had not been mowed recently and consisted of tall grass; however, he did not see any standing water. After the pilot landed and rolled down the runway, he encountered a soft surface with standing water, which was not visible from the air. The airplane’s main gear sank into the soft surface, which caused the airplane to nose over and come to rest on the top of the wings and vertical stabilizer. Both occupants were able to exit the airplane with no injuries. The airplane received substantial damage to the left wing spar and vertical stabilizer. The pilot reported no mechanical deficiencies with the airplane prior to the accident.
Factual narrative
The pilot and a passenger flew to a privately-owned airport. The pilot circled the airport and made a low pass to view the runway condition. The pilot noticed the turf runway had not been mowed recently and consisted of tall grass; however, he did not see any standing water. After the pilot landed and rolled down the runway, he encountered a soft surface with standing water, which was not visible from the air. The airplane’s main gear sank into the soft surface which allowed the airplane to nose over and came to rest on the top of the wings and vertical stabilizer. Both occupants were able to exit the airplane with no injuries. The airplane received substantial damage to the left wing spar and vertical stabilizer. The pilot reported no mechanical deficiencies with the airplane prior to the accident.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N42351
- Reported as
- Piper J3C-65
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 14601
- Airframe hours
- 6,218
- Engine
- Cont Motor C85-12F, 85 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · August 20, 2008
- Departed
- 7FL6 · Port Orange, FL
- Destination
- FA63 · Alamana, FL
- Airport
- FA63 · Leffler Airport, runway 18, 3,400 × 100 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
- 66
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Flight engineer, Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land, Single-engine sea, Multi-engine sea
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- February 16, 2009
- Seat
- Rear
- Flight hours
- 27,000 total · 2,000 in this make and model · 19,000 as pilot in command · 120 in the last 90 days · 750 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 330° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 79 °F, dew point 68 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.94 inHg
- Observed at
- SFB, 13 nm away
Docket · 2
The files NTSB released with the investigation on July 15, 2009, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 553 KB in all.