- Date
- December 24, 1997, 11:50 local (19:50 UTC)
- Place
- Stoil, CA
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N91915Piper J3C-65
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report January 28, 2000
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19971224039469A
- Case key
- 30008
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 obstacle clearance and his inadequate visual outlook.. Factors were a severed fuel line which resulted in an in-flight fire, which diminished the pilot's ability to land the airplane with smoke and fire in the cockpit.
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 desired to become an agricultural pilot and was practicing low passes over a field. The pilot failed to see three power transmission cables and the airplane struck a 300-foot-span of number 8 gauge copper conductor suspended about 45 to 50 feet above the ground with its propeller. An in-flight fire erupted in the cockpit area. The fire was located at a break in a fuel line from the fuel selector valve to the engine. The pilot suffered second and third degree burns to his face, arms, and left leg and landed the airplane hard, collapsing one of the main landing gear. He egressed the airplane unaided while the fire spread destroying the airplane. There was no evidence of mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane before the collision with power transmission cables.
Factual narrative
On December 24, 1997, at 1150 hours Pacific standard time, a Piper J3C-65, N91915, collided with wires and landed in an open field near Stoil, California. The airplane was destroyed by postimpact fire. The certificated commercial pilot, and sole occupant, received serious injuries. The airplane was being operated by the pilot as a personal flight when the accident occurred. The local area flight originated from a private farm airstrip near Tulare, California, at 1045. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the pilot recently received his commercial pilot certificate on October 26, 1997. The pilot indicated he desired to become an agricultural pilot and was practicing low passes over a field. The airplane struck a 300-foot-span of number 8 gauge copper conductor suspended about 45 to 50 feet above the ground with its propeller. The pilot told an FAA inspector an in-flight fire erupted in the cockpit area after the collision with the power transmission cable. The fire was located at a break in a fuel line from the fuel selector valve to the engine.
The pilot landed the airplane, collapsing one of the main landing gear. He egressed the airplane unaided. The fire spread destroying the airplane. The pilot suffered second and third degree burns to his face, arms, and left leg.
The pilot stated in his accident report that he failed to see the power transmission cables before the collision. The pilot also indicated there were no mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N91915
- Reported as
- Piper J3C-65
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 16330
- Airframe hours
- 4,790
- Engine
- Continental C85, 85 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- In-Flight
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Cottle, William L
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · February 6, 1997 · 168 hours before
- Departed
- Tulare, 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
- 28
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 280 total · 170 in this make and model · 227 as pilot in command · 29 in the last 90 days · 10 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 150° at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 46 °F, dew point 36 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- VIS, 24 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.