- Date
- June 2, 2026, 11:51 local (15:51 UTC)
- Place
- East Granby, CT · tree nursery
- Injuries
- 2 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N331JMPiper J5C-65
- Defining event
- Takeoff: Loss of engine power (total)
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Investigation ongoing
- Investigation class
- Class 3
- NTSB office
- Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties
- FAA
- FAA report
- 20260602006599A
- Case key
- 203113
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Preliminary report
What NTSB knew early in the investigation. It may change in the final report.
On June 2, 2026, at 1151 eastern daylight time, a Piper J3C-65, N331JM, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near East Granby, Connecticut. The pilot and passenger were not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The pilot stated that after takeoff, when the airplane was about 400 ft, he noticed the engine rpm drop slightly. When the rpm continued to drop, he turned to return to the airport. As the airplane descended to about 200 ft, the engine lost all power. The pilot subsequently conducted a forced landing in a farm field. The airplane struck a greenhouse and the landing gear partially collapsed. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the engine mount. The airplane was retained for examination.
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.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N331JM
- Reported as
- Piper J5C-65
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 22158
- Built
- 1946
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Destination
- Same as departure
- Airport
- 4B9 · Simsbury
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.
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 40° at 9 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 25,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 73 °F, dew point 45 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.14 inHg
- Observed at
- KBDL, 4 nm away
- METAR
- METAR KBDL 021551Z 04009KT 10SM FEW060 BKN250 23/07 A3014
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.