Piper J3C-65 N24565

Summary

On 4 August 1997 at about 20:05 local time, a Piper J3C-65 registered N24565, operated by John A Rolls, was involved in an accident near Danbury, Connecticut, United States. 2 people were on board and one died, one was seriously injured. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

4 August 1997 at 20:05

Classification

Accident

Location

Danbury, Connecticut, United States

Nearest airport

Danbury Municipal (DXR)

Coordinates

Not recorded

Aircraft

Piper J3C-65

Registration

N24565

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

John A Rolls

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

NYC97FA159

1 person died.

The pilot's failure to takeoff with the fuel selector in the full on position, which resulted in fuel starvation. Also causal was the pilot's improper in-flight decision to attempt a 180 degree turn back to the runway, which resulted in the inadvertent stall/spin.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot had flown the airplane on several previous flights and stated that it had 'performed flawlessly.' The pilot and passenger flew a 1 hour flight and returned to the departure airport. The airplane was on the ground for about 30 minutes and had a radio antenna repaired. The engine was started by the pilot to check the radio on the ground, and then shut down. The pilot then restarted the engine with one pull of the propeller and taxied out for takeoff. After takeoff, about 200 feet above the ground, the engine lost power and the pilot began a steep 180 degree turn. The airplane then stalled and spun into the ground, about 1,000 feet from the departure end of the runway. Examination of the wreckage revealed no preimpact failures of the airframe or engine. The fuel selector valve, and control assembly in the cockpit, were found in the OFF position. When air was applied to one end of the fuel selector in the OFF position, a flow of air could be felt at the other end. A similar airplane was started with the fuel selector OFF, and the engine ran for 1 minute and 46 seconds before fuel starvation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.