# NTSB SEA97LA204: Piper J-3, N98833, Jordan, MT, September 7, 1997 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · Fatal · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: September 7, 1997, 17:15 local (23:15 UTC) - Place: Jordan, MT - Coordinates: 47.380424, -106.810249 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=47.3804&lon=-106.8102&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Maneuvering](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/450) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: Fatal - Injuries: 2 fatal - Status: Completed, report May 4, 1998 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB case key (mKey): 42686 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=SEA97LA204 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/42686/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/SEA97LA204 ## Probable cause The pilot's inadequate remedial action during an inadvertent stall/spin entry. Factors include buzzing, a rapid pull-up, and failure to maintain proper airspeed (Vs). ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Loss of control - in flight, maneuvering - buzzing - intentional, unqualified person (contributing factor) - pull-up - excessive, unqualified person (contributing factor) - airspeed(vs) - not maintained, unqualified person (contributing factor) - stall/spin - inadvertent, unqualified person - In flight collision with terrain/water, descent - uncontrolled - remedial action - inadequate, unqualified person (cause) ## Analysis The person who was flying the aircraft had been giving rides to some of the individuals who had gathered at a ranch for a horse sale. When he gave these rides, he took off from a field near where the sale was taking place, and then would make a number of low passes which concluded with steep pull-ups. On the accident flight, he made a low pass, pulled up steeply, and appeared to be initiating a turn near the top of his pull-up. As the aircraft slowed at the top of the pull-up, it entered a spin from which the 'pilot' did not recover. Witnesses reported that the individual flying the aircraft had told a number of persons present at the sale that he did not possess an FAA pilot's certificate. A search of FAA records confirmed that he was not a certificated pilot. ## Factual narrative On September 7, 1997, approximately 1715 mountain daylight time, a Piper J-3, N98833, impacted the terrain while maneuvering in the vicinity of a horse ranch near Jordan, Utah. The individual who was flying the aircraft, who was not a certificated pilot, received fatal injuries, as did his passenger. The aircraft, which was owned and operated by the individual who was at the controls, caught fire upon impact and was destroyed. The personal pleasure flight, which took off from a field near the ranch, had been airborne for about five minutes, and was being operated in visual meteorological conditions. No flight plan had been filed, and there was no report of an ELT. According to witnesses, the owner of the aircraft had been giving rides to some of the people who had gathered at the ranch for a horse sale. During these rides he had made multiple low-level, high-speed passes, and then pulled up steeply at the conclusion of the pass. During the accident flight, he made a low pass and a steep pull-up, and then appeared to be initiating a turn when the aircraft's nose dropped and it entered a spin. The aircraft did not recover from the spin prior to hitting the ground. After hitting the ground, the aircraft's fuel tank burst, and the wreckage was engulfed in flames. According to witnesses, the individual flying the aircraft told a number of individuals at the ranch that he did not possess a pilot's certificate. A search of FAA records confirmed this statement. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N98833](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N98833), registered now, S/N 19082, built 1946 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Piper J-3 - Registry model: [Piper J3C-65](https://openairdocs.org/model/piper-j3c-65) (registry code 7100510) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Continental A&C65 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-a-c65-series) (registry code 17003, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 19082 - Engines: Continental A-65 65 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Destroyed - Fire: On-Ground - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Registered owner: James T. Hentges - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; medical: unknown, unknown; toxicology performed ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Visibility: 20 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 19970907048029A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19970907048029A), Sep 7, 1997: Piper J3C65, Jordan, MT, Destroyed, 2 fatal. (-16) On September 7, 1997, at 1712 local time, N98833, a PA-J3-C65, owned and operated by james t. hentges departed a private farm north east of Jordan,… From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.