# NTSB ERA24LA346: Piper J3, N21811, Mooresburg, TN, August 16, 2024

- Type: NTSB accident investigation
- Classification: Accident · Fatal · Class 4 · Limited · Final report
- Date: August 16, 2024, 07:15 local (11:15 UTC)
- Place: Mooresburg, TN · 209 Brooks Rd.
- Coordinates: 36.359167, -83.227092
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=36.3592&lon=-83.2271&mi=10
- Phase of flight: [Maneuvering](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/450) (OpenAirDocs' grouping)
- Defining event: [Maneuvering: Controlled flight into terr/obj (CFIT)](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/120)
- Highest injury: Fatal
- Injuries: 1 fatal
- Status: Completed
- Report: Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class: Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office: Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties: FAA/FSDO
- NTSB case key (mKey): 194939
- NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ERA24LA346
- NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/194939/pdf
- NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=194939
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA24LA346

## Probable cause

The pilot’s intentional flight into a building as an act of suicide.

## Findings

NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause.

- [Intentional act: suicide](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02051015): Personnel issues › Miscellaneous · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [All aircraft, 23 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02051015/cases.md)

## Sequence of events

The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened.

- [Maneuvering: Controlled flight into terr/obj (CFIT)](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/120) (defining event); cases with it: [All aircraft, 1,074 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/120/sequence.md)

## Analysis

The pilot departed from a private airstrip and overflew his property. The airplane subsequently impacted a barn adjacent to the airstrip. The airplane sustained substantial damage, and the fuselage was mostly consumed by the postimpact fire that ensued. The pilot was fatally injured. An autopsy of the pilot was performed by the William L. Jenkins Forensic Center, Johnson City, Tennessee. The autopsy report listed the cause of death as blunt force injuries and the manner of death as suicide.

## Aircraft

- Registration: N21811 (not matched to a registry record)
- Reported make and model: PIPER J3
- Category: Airplane
- Serial number: 2587
- Year built: 1938
- Engines: Franklin reciprocating
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Fire: On-Ground
- Flight: Personal, Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal
- Destination: Same as departure
- Airport: Pvt
- Equipment: Unknown

## Flight crew

As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.

- Pilot; age 60; injuries: fatal; medical: class 3, without waivers/limitations; toxicology performed; flight hours: 24 total, 24 in this make and model

## Weather

- Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day
- Wind: calm
- Visibility: 9 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling: none
- Temperature: 64 °F, dew point 64 °F
- Altimeter: 30.09 inHg
- Observed at: 0VG, 18 nm away
- METAR: 0VG 161115Z AUTO 00000KT 9SM CLR 18/18 A3009 RMK AO2

## FAA reports on this event (1)

The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs).

- [Accident 20240816013359A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20240816013359A), Aug 16, 2024: Piper J3C-65, Mooresburg, TN, Substantial damage, 1 fatal. On 8/16/24 the aircraft departed a private grass airstrip, made a lap around the property and impacted a barn. The aircraft was partially consumed in a post…

## Docket (3 files)

The files NTSB released with the investigation on June 5, 2025, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=194939. 4.1 MB in all.

- Sherriff's statement (item 1, PDF, 2 pages, 1.2 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=18673438&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Sherriff%27s%20Statement_Redacted-Rel.pdf
- Toxicology report (item 2, PDF, 2 pages, 312 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=18673010&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Toxicology%20Report_Redacted-Rel.pdf
- Photo array (item 3, PDF, 4 pages, 2.6 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=18673640&FileExtension=pdf&FileName=Photo%20Array-Rel.pdf

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

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