- Date
- October 24, 1982, 16:45 local (21:45 UTC)
- Place
- Sweetwater, TX
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N38449Piper J-3
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 24, 1983
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19821024055089A
- Case key
- 72772
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
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
When the confederate air force failed to show up for an airshow the pilot was asked to make some low passes over the airport and explosive charges were to be set off to simulate bomb bursts. During one low pass the charges were exploded too soon. The concussion buckled the ribs in the left wing,blew out the windshield and blew all the inspection panels off the aircraft. The pilot made an emergency landing on the airport with no further damage.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N38449
- Reported as
- Piper J-3
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 7022
- Airframe hours
- 8,000
- Engine
- Continental O-200, 100 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Part 91
- Operator
- Woolslayer, Joseph
- Registered owner
- Woolslayer, Joseph
- Departed
- SWW · Sweetwater, TX
- Destination
- SWW · Sweetwater, TX
- Airport
- SWW · Sweetwater
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
- 21
- Certificates
- Commercial, Flight instructor
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Flight hours
- 2,000 total · 2,000 in this make and model · 1,900 as pilot in command · 100 in the last 90 days · 5 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N38449 · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.