Piper J3L-65 N33252

Summary

On 18 October 1997 at about 22:00 local time, a Piper J3L-65 registered N33252 was involved in an accident near Reeseville, Wisconsin, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

18 October 1997 at 22:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Reeseville, Wisconsin, United States

Nearest airport

Reeseville (Private) (RLA)

Coordinates

43.2990, -88.8397

Aircraft

Piper J3L-65

Registration

N33252

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Hartford → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CHI98LA019

Nobody was injured.

failure of the normal braking system, due to a low level of brake fluid. Factors relating to the accident were: inadequate inspection of the aircraft by other maintenance personnel, the pilot's failure to check the brakes after brake maintenance/inspection, the tailwind, and the location of trees.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot said that the winds were from the southwest at 10 knots. He entered the traffic pattern on a left downwind for a northbound landing on his private airstrip. He reported that he landed approximately one-third of the way down the 900' grass strip. During the roll out, he depressed the brake pedals and found both to be ineffective in slowing the airplane. He said that because of trees off the departure end of the runway, a go-around attempt would have been inappropriate. He opted to continue the landing roll, swerving to the left before colliding with trees off the departure end of the runway. Postaccident inspection confirmed that there was no brake engagement at either wheel. Examination of the brake system revealed that the master cylinder reservoir was not full. After adding approximately 1\2 ounce of brake fluid to the cylinder, the brakes engaged. The pilot said that three flights before the accident, the brakes felt 'soft' following a landing. He said that he flew the accident airplane twice after the brakes were tested by a maintenance facility, prior to the accident flight. The pilot stated that he did not recall ever using or testing the brakes at any time during this time. He said that he usually only used the brakes after landing at Reeseville, due to the short landing area.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.