LAX81FVM09

NTSB accident investigation · Piper J-3 · Milpitas, CA · January 25, 1981

Accident · No injuriesClosed
Date
January 25, 1981
Place
Milpitas, CA · MILPITAS, CA
Injuries
1 uninjured
Damage
Substantial damage
Phase of flight
Enroute
Aircraft
N6394HPiper J-3
Status
Completed · report March 2, 1981
Report
Brief approved by the director
FAA report
19810125002659A
Case key
127178

From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.

On this page

NTSB brief

NTSB’s brief of the accident, as it was printed: the coded facts, with the probable cause and factors.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 FILE    DATE          LOCATION          AIRCRAFT DATA       INJURIES       FLIGHT                        PILOT DATA
                                                               F  S M/N     PURPOSE
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3-0134  81/1/25    MILPITAS,CA         PIPER J-3           CR-  0  0  1  NONCOMMERCIAL             PRIVATE, AGE 31, 390
        TIME - 1620                    N6394H              PX-  0  0  0  PLEASURE/PERSONAL TRANSP  TOTAL HOURS, 300 IN TYPE,
                                       DAMAGE-SUBSTANTIAL  OT-  0  0  0                            NOT INSTRUMENT RATED.
        DEPARTURE POINT             INTENDED DESTINATION
          PALO ALTO,CA                LOCAL
        TYPE OF ACCIDENT                                         PHASE OF OPERATION
           ENGINE FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION                            IN FLIGHT: NORMAL CRUISE
           COLLISION WITH GROUND/WATER: CONTROLLED                  LANDING: LEVEL OFF/TOUCHDOWN
        PROBABLE CAUSE(S)
           PILOT IN COMMAND - IMPROPER OPERATION OF POWERPLANT & POWERPLANT CONTROLS
           MISCELLANEOUS ACTS,CONDITIONS - ANTI-ICING/DEICING EQUIPMENT-IMPROPER OPERATION OF/OR FAILED TO USE
           MISCELLANEOUS ACTS,CONDITIONS - ICE-CARBURETOR
        FACTOR(S)
           WEATHER - CONDITIONS CONDUCIVE TO CARB./INDUCTION SYSTEM ICING
        PARTIAL POWER LOSS - PARTIAL LOSS OF POWER - 1 ENGINE
        WEATHER BRIEFING - UNKNOWN/NOT REPORTED
        WEATHER FORECAST - UNKNOWN/NOT REPORTED
        EMERGENCY CIRCUMSTANCES - FORCED LANDING OFF AIRPORT ON LAND
        SKY CONDITION                                            CEILING AT ACCIDENT SITE
          CLEAR                                                    UNLIMITED
        VISIBILITY AT ACCIDENT SITE                              PRECIPITATION AT ACCIDENT SITE
          5 OR OVER(UNLIMITED)                                     NONE
        OBSTRUCTIONS TO VISION AT ACCIDENT SITE                  TYPE OF WEATHER CONDITIONS
          NONE                                                     VFR
        TYPE OF FLIGHT PLAN
          NONE

Aircraft

Registration
N6394H
Reported as
Piper J-3
Category
Airplane
Engine
reciprocating
Damage
Substantial damage

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.

FAA reports on this event · 1

The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.