- Date
- February 2, 1997, 09:00 local (16:00 UTC)
- Place
- Moorcroft, WY
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N83347Piper PA-18-150
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report August 25, 1997
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19970202001159A
- Case key
- 42560
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 airspeed. A factor was the pilot's low altitude flight and maneuvering.
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 reported that while maneuvering at low altitude, he stalled the airplane. His FAA medical certificate had expired.
Factual narrative
On February 2, 1997, approximately 0900 mountain standard time, a Piper PA-18-150, N83347, was substantially damaged in a collision with terrain following a loss of control while maneuvering at low altitude approximately 15 miles south of Moorcroft, Wyoming. The private pilot, the aircraft's sole occupant, was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the local 14 CFR 91 flight from the Fuller Ranch and no flight plan had been filed.
The pilot stated on his NTSB accident report that he "pulled up on a hill-turned to [the] left and stalled [the] [l]eft wing too close to [the] ground." He also indicated on his report that his most recent FAA medical certificate had been issued in 1994.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N83347
- Reported as
- Piper PA-18-150
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 18-7609087
- Airframe hours
- 670
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-A2B, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Leroy Fuller
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Limited (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · September 16, 1996 · 14 hours before
- Departed
- Fuller Ranch, WY
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
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Expired
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 2,000 total · 520 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 235° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 36 °F, dew point 28 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- GCC, 35 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.