Piper PA-12 N3780M

Summary

On 19 July 1999 at about 17:20 local time, a Piper PA-12 registered N3780M was involved in an accident near Dillingham, Alaska, 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

19 July 1999 at 17:20

Classification

Accident

Location

Dillingham, Alaska, United States

Coordinates

58.8192, -157.8590

Aircraft

Piper PA-12

Registration

N3780M

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Business

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Togiak → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ANC99LA093

Nobody was injured.

The inadequate preflight by the pilot, which failed to detect water contamination of the airplane's fuel.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot told the NTSB investigator-in-charge (IIC) during a telephone interview, and in his NTSB Pilot/Operator report, the airplane had been parked in the rain for two days with the fuel tanks about 1/3 full. About 10 minutes after takeoff, while in cruise at 300 feet above the ground, the engine momentarily ran rough. He said he applied carburetor heat, adjusted the throttle, and the engine smoothed out. About 10 minutes later the engine suddenly lost power. The pilot landed the airplane on tundra, and it nosed over. The pilot told the IIC that he suspected water contamination in the fuel.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.