- Date
- March 23, 1996, 15:45 local (23:45 UTC)
- Place
- Fremont, CA
- Injuries
- 2 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N36354Taylorcraft DC-65
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report August 20, 1996
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19960323004899A
- Case key
- 29395
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 in-flight separation of a portion of one wooden propeller blade due to undetected dry rot in the wood fibers.
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
According to the flight instructor, the aircraft was in cruise when a sudden severe vibration went through the airframe. The pilot shut down the engine and noted that the brass abrasion strip and part of one wooden blade had separated. The pilot landed in a field, but could not stop the aircraft before it went down an embankment and into a ravine. An airframe and powerplant mechanic who recovered the aircraft reported that he saw evidence of dry rot in the remaining wooden blade section.
Factual narrative
On March 23, 1996, at 1545 hours Pacific standard time, a Taylorcraft DC-65, N36354, collided with ground obstructions during a forced landing in hilly terrain near Fremont, California. The forced landing was precipitated by the separation of a portion of one of the wooden propeller blades during cruise flight. The aircraft was owned and operated by Amelia Reid Aviation of San Jose, California, and was engaged in a local area instructional flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time and no flight plan was filed. The aircraft sustained substantial damage. The commercial pilot/flight instructor and the private pilot undergoing conventional gear aircraft training sustained minor injuries. The flight originated from the Reid-Hillview airport, San Jose, on the day of the accident at 1515.
According to the flight instructor, the aircraft was in cruise when a sudden severe vibration went through the airframe. The pilot shut down the engine and noted that the brass abrasion strip and part of one wooden blade had separated. The pilot landed in a field, but could not stop the aircraft before it went down an embankment and into a ravine.
An airframe and powerplant mechanic who recovered the aircraft reported that he saw evidence of dry rot in the remaining wooden blade section.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N36354
- Reported as
- Taylorcraft DC-65
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 4091
- Airframe hours
- 1,973
- Engine
- Continental A-65-85, 65 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Operator
- Amelia Reid Aviation
- Registered owner
- Amelia C. Reid
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · November 27, 1995 · 55 hours before
- Departed
- RHV · San Jose, CA
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
- 64
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Rear
- Flight hours
- 7,800 total · 234 in this make and model · 7,600 as pilot in command · 130 in the last 90 days · 59 in the last 30 days · 4 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 290° at 10 knots
- Visibility
- 50 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 61 °F, dew point 37 °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.