Piper J3F-65 N40770

Summary

On 30 March 2002 at about 23:00 local time, a Piper J3F-65 registered N40770 was involved in an accident near Parker, Arizona, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

30 March 2002 at 23:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Parker, Arizona, United States

Nearest airport

Parker (KP20)

Coordinates

34.1506, -114.2711

Aircraft

Piper J3F-65

Registration

N40770

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Parker → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX02FA120

2 people died.

The failure of the student to attain and maintain an adequate airspeed following liftoff, which resulted in a stall/mush condition. Also causal was the certified flight instructor's inadequate supervision of the flight and failure to take timely remedial actions. .

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane collided with the ground following a loss of control in the takeoff initial climb and was destroyed in a ground fire about 300 yards north of the departure end of the runway. The student was receiving instruction by the certified flight instructor (CFI). Just after liftoff, the airplane assumed a nose high stall attitude and began "wallowing" with the wings rocking back and forth. The airplane never attained more than 70 feet off the ground as it flew past the departure end of runway, and, while still "wallowing," began a right crosswind turn. The right wingtip contacted the ground and the airplane cartwheeled to a stop and then caught fire. In a post accident examination, no mechanical anomalies were discovered with either the airframe systems or engine.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.