- Date
- January 20, 1990, 17:25 local (22:25 UTC)
- Place
- Clewiston, FL
- Injuries
- 2 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Unknown
- Aircraft
- N88125Piper J-3
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 10, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19900120000899A
- Case key
- 32543
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
Failure of the pilot to secure the flight control stick (inadequate preflight) before takeoff.
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
During unk phase of flt, plt lost control of the acft. It descended wings level, 45 deg nose low, impacted terrain, & was destroyed by fire. Exam of acft revealed the rear seat (plt) control stick was lying in the wreckage. Exam of it revealed no impact damage nor was there evidence that a bolt & nut, used to secure it, was installed. Plt reportedly removed the nut & bolt & sanded the inside of the stick to facilitate removal. The flight controls operationally checked good. The front seat control stick was installed but not secured. Eng & prop were removed for further exam. Exam of the eng revealed valve continuity & compression sufficient to sustain eng operation. Fire damaged the mags, ignition harnesses, & carb. Spark plugs were operationally tested, only 1 tested good. Acft & eng logbooks not located. Fuel quantity was sufficient.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N88125
- Reported as
- Piper J-3
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 15742
- Engine
- Continental C-85-12, 85 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Nesbitt, James K.
- Registered owner
- Nesbitt, James K
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
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
- 37
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Rear
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 2,000 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 120° at 9 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 73 °F, dew point 70 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- PBI, 29 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.