- Date
- April 20, 1986, 11:00 local (16:00 UTC)
- Place
- Bethany, NY
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N88379Piper J3C-65
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19860420015269A
- Case key
- 30207
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
The acft crashed on the arpt after a turn of aprx 120 degrees to avoid 60 ft trees at the departure edge of the arpt. The plt had used the grass beside the airstrip because of standing water at places on the rwy. The takeoff run was started about 500 ft from the beginning of the rwy on the hay stubble adjacent to the hangar. Auto fuel was being used without STC authorization. The plt stated that the acft seemed to stop climbing at about 50 ft AGL and he thought he would not be able to clear the trees ahead. During the turn the acft stalled and was landed with throttle still full open according to the plt. The throttle was closed as the plane approached small trees and a hedge row. These trees were hit by the rt wing and the acft swung rt to a stop. The plt said later that he found the elevator trim almost all the way nose down which made him think that the acft would not climb. He said that the 200 lb acft owner had flown the acft on its last flt and since he sat in the rear seat had trimmed the acft nose heavy.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N88379
- Reported as
- Piper J3C-65
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 15997
- Airframe hours
- 702
- Engine
- Continental C-65, 65 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Francis Mckinney
- Registered owner
- Kenneth Macpherson
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · November 1, 1985 · 40 hours before
- Airport
- Bethany Hales Airstrip, runway 27, 2,500 × 50 ft, grass/turf
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
- 56
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 670 total · 200 in this make and model · 20 in the last 90 days · 10 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 270° at 9 knots
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 50 °F, dew point -0 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.