- Date
- June 25, 1998, 13:50 local (20:50 UTC)
- Place
- Redding, CA
- Injuries
- 1 minor, 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Taxi
- Aircraft
- N30576Piper J3C-65
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 15, 2001
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Case key
- 30131
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 excessive use of the brakes while taxiing, allowing the aircraft to nose over.
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 landed and began to taxi to the hangar. The aircraft was on the runway centerline and was moving about 10 miles per hour. The pilot stated that the tail became light due to excessive braking and the aircraft nosed over and came to rest inverted. The pilot reported that there are two windsocks on the field, and both were showing no wind at the time of the accident. The pilot further reported that he had not experienced any mechanical malfunction with the aircraft prior to the accident.
Factual narrative
On June 25, 1998, at 1350 hours Pacific daylight time, a Piper J3C-65, N30576, nosed over while taxiing at the Benton airport in Redding, California. The aircraft sustained substantial damage. The commercial pilot suffered minor injuries, and the passenger received no injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the local personal flight and no flight plan was filed.
The pilot reported that he completed a landing on runway 33 and was beginning a left turn to taxi back to the hangar. The aircraft was still on the runway centerline and was moving about 10 miles per hour. The pilot stated that the tail became light "due to excessive braking" and the aircraft nosed over and came to rest inverted.
The pilot reported that there are two windsocks on the field, and both were showing no wind at the time of the accident. The pilot further reported that he had not experienced any mechanical malfunction with the aircraft prior to the accident.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N30576
- Reported as
- Piper J3C-65
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 4946
- Airframe hours
- 2,416
- Engine
- Continental C90-16F, 90 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Brent Owen
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · May 6, 1998 · 15 hours before
- Departed
- 085
- Airport
- RDD · Redding, runway 33, 2,420 × 80 ft, asphalt
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
- 53
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 5,500 total · 600 in this make and model · 50 in the last 90 days · 10 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 90° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 79 °F, dew point 41 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- KRD, 6 nm away