- Date
- October 10, 1998, 17:11 local (21:11 UTC)
- Place
- Waynesville, OH
- Injuries
- 2 serious
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N70968Piper J3C-65
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 23, 2000
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19981010028889A
- Case key
- 44164
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 adequate airspeed which resulted in an inadvertent stall.
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 private pilot and passenger departed the airport on a local pleasure flight toward an area where a gathering of 70 people were at a picnic outing. The airplane was observed flying low and slow approximately 100 yards in front of the picnic attendees. The airplane was then observed to pitch up, sharply roll to the right, enter a descending right hand turn, and collided with terrain in a nose down attitude. The pilot reported there were no mechanical malfunctions with the airplane and that he inadvertently stalled the airplane in a climb. He reported a total of 166 flight hours with 6 total hours in make and model.
Factual narrative
On October 10, 1998, about 1711 eastern daylight time, a Piper J3C-65, N70968, was destroyed after impacting terrain while maneuvering near Waynesville, Ohio. The certificated private pilot and passenger were seriously injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the personal flight conducted under 14 CFR Part 91. The flight originated at Waynesville Airport (401), about 1650.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Aviation Safety Inspector's written report, the airplane was observed flying low and slow over a lake and 100 yards in front of an outing where 70 people had gathered. Eye witnesses observed the airplane pitch up, sharply roll to the right and enter a descending right hand turn. The airplane impacted the ground in a nose down attitude 100 yards to the northeast of the gathering. No ground injuries or property damage was reported. According to witnesses, the engine sounded as if it was operating normally prior to impact.
In a written statement the pilot reported the following:
"[This was a] recreational flight to take pictures of [a] friend's farm and picnic outing - though I do not recall [the] last part of flight prior to [the] accident, I apparently stalled in [the] climb and collided with [the] ground. I consider this a pilot error for which I am profoundly sorry."
The pilot reported no mechanical malfunctions with the airplane. He reported a total of 166 flight hours with 6 in make and model.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N70968
- Reported as
- Piper J3C-65
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 17993
- Engine
- Continental A&C 65 SERIES, 75 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Stewart Air Service
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- 401 · OH
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
- 59
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Invalid Medical for flight
- Seat
- Rear
- Flight hours
- 166 total · 6 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 68 °F, dew point 45 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- ILN, 21 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.