- Date
- July 7, 1996, 18:00 local (23:00 UTC)
- Place
- Cambridge, MD
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N87910Piper J3C-65
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 31, 1998
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19960707016229A
- Case key
- 28075
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 failure to maintain control of the airplane during landing. The crosswind was a factor.
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
The pilot stated that he was doing a touch-and-go landing on runway 34 when a gust of wind veered the airplane to the right. The airplane ground looped, and during his attempt to recover, the airplane went off the right side of the runway and into a ditch. The winds were not recorded at the airport but the local area and airports in the vicinity showed winds recorded from the southwest at approximately 10 knots.
Factual narrative
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On July 7, 1996, at about 1840 eastern standard time, a Piper J3C-65, N87910, impacted the ground during an attempted touch and go landing at Dorchester Airport in Cambridge, Maryland. The private pilot, the sole occupant, was uninjured, and the airplane sustained substantial damage. Visual meteorological conditions existed at the time and no flight plan was filed. The flight was conducted under 14 CFR Part 91, and originated from Cambridge, Maryland, at 1830 eastern standard time.
The pilot stated that during a touch and go landing on runway 34 a gust of wind veered the airplane to the right. He stated that he thought the airplane ground looped and he attempted to recover it. During his attempt to recover the airplane, he stated that he hit a ditch and small brush along the right side of the runway.
METEOROLOGICAL INFORMATION Weather at the accident airport was not recorded. The weather recorded at Wicomico County Regional Airport in Salisbury, Maryland, which is to the east/southeast at 27 miles was: Temperature-86 degrees Fahrenheit; Temperature Dewpoint- 68 degrees Fahrenheit; Wind-230 degrees at 8 knots and the visibility was 10 miles.
WRECKAGE AND IMPACT INFORMATION The Federal Aviation Administration Inspector who went on site of the accident stated that the pilot was attempting to land on runway 34 which is 4004 feet long and 75 feet wide. The FAA inspector stated that the airplane traveled 500 feet down the runway and came to rest approximately 50 feet to the right in a ditch. The FAA Inspector stated that the flight controls checked for continuity and no anomalies could be found with the engine.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N87910
- Reported as
- Piper J3C-65
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 15528
- Airframe hours
- 2,400
- Engine
- Continental A65, 65 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Martinek, Daniel D.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · January 20, 1996 · 30 hours before
- Departed
- CGE
- Airport
- CGE · Cambridge/Dorchester Cnty, runway 34, 4,000 × 70 ft, asphalt
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
- 45
- Certificate
- Private
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Rear
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 250° at 5 knots, gusting 9
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 81 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.