Piper PA-12 N3687M

Summary

On 22 March 2002 at about 21:30 local time, a Piper PA-12 registered N3687M was involved in an accident near Terrell, Texas, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

22 March 2002 at 21:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Terrell, Texas, United States

Nearest airport

Terrell Municipal (TRL)

Coordinates

32.7100, -96.2675

Aircraft

Piper PA-12

Registration

N3687M

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Terrell → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

FTW02LA100

2 people had minor injuries.

the inadequate supervision by the flight instructor resulting in the dual student's failure to maintain the proper glidepath during the short field approach. A contributing factor was the downdraft.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

During the tailwheel endorsement flight, the private pilot was performing a short field landing to the runway when tree branches hit the fuselage, and the right wing struck the trees. Subsequently, the airplane slowed, nosed down, and turned right. The flight instructor recalled applying left aileron and left rudder with little or no effect, and the airplane hit the ground. The flight instructor believed that the airplane encountered a sink rate which he did not detect. He further stated that "the deterioring flight path went undetected" by him since he thought the airplane had cleared the area of the trees, which caused him to "under utilize visual clues more to the sides of the approach path." The pilot reported the wind was from the north-northwest at 5-15 mph and "bumpy."

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.