Piper J3C-65 N3542N

Summary

On 12 June 2006 at about 00:35 local time, a Piper J3C-65 registered N3542N was involved in an accident near Stugartt, Arkansas, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 were seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

12 June 2006 at 00:35

Classification

Accident

Location

Stugartt, Arkansas, United States

Coordinates

Not recorded

Aircraft

Piper J3C-65

Registration

N3542N

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Stugartt → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

DFW06LA159

2 people were seriously injured.

The pilot's failure to maintain clearance from high brush during takeoff. Contributing factors were the short runway and the high density altitude.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The 256-hour private pilot and a passenger were departing a private 1,200-foot-long grass airstrip in a two-seat, single-engine airplane when it collided with 10-to14- foot-tall brush. It then flew across a 14-foot-wide drainage ditch located beyond the departure end of the runway before it landed in an open field and nosed over. Examination of the vintage airplane by a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector revealed that the throttle was in the "idle" position and both propeller blades were bent aft. The outside air temperature at the time of the accident was 90 degrees Fahrenheit and both occupants weighed in excess of 200 pounds. The aircraft manufacturer did not publish takeoff performance data for this airplane, which was manufactured in 1947. The investigator in charge calculated the density altitude near the time of the accident at 2,296 feet.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.