- Date
- March 2, 1982, 13:30 local (21:30 UTC)
- Place
- Chandler, AZ
- Injuries
- 2 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N38857Piper J3F-65
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 2, 1983
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19820302002349A
- Case key
- 70185
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
While on a downwind leg of the traffic pattern, the pilot noticed a very loud grinding noise as if the engine was coming apart. He stated that the engine RPM became very high. He attempted to maneuver for a landing on the runway but entered a high sink rate. The pilot then realized that he would be unable to reach the runway and elected to land beside a road. He was unable to completely stop the sink rate while flaring to land. The aircraft touched down hard, the gear collapsed, and the fuselage failed. Subsequently, the propeller was found in the vicinity of the downwind leg where it had separated from the aircraft. The propeller had been previously removed from the aircraft while it was in storage to prevent the plane from being stolen. The pilot believed that the propeller was improperly secured when reinstalled.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N38857
- Reported as
- Piper J3F-65
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 7345
- Engine
- Franklin 4AC-176BA2, 65 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Milton C Leshe
- Registered owner
- Milton C Leshe
- Departed
- P19 · Chandler, AZ
- Destination
- P19 · Chandler, AZ
- Airport
- P19 · Stellar Airpark
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
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Flight hours
- 3,310 total · 5 in this make and model · 2,310 as pilot in command · 25 in the last 90 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 150° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 50 statute miles
- Temperature
- 167 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.