Piper J3C-65 N3544N

Summary

On 30 May 2008 at about 22:54 local time, a Piper J3C-65 registered N3544N, operated by Richard R. Fuller, was involved in an accident near Durham, North Carolina, United States. One person was on board and one was seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

30 May 2008 at 22:54

Classification

Accident

Location

Durham, North Carolina, United States

Nearest airport

Lake Ridge Aero Park (8NC8)

Coordinates

36.0561, -78.7833

Aircraft

Piper J3C-65

Registration

N3544N

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Richard R. Fuller

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Durham → Durham

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Dusk

NTSB number

MIA08LA109

1 person was seriously injured.

The pilot's failure to maintain clearance from trees while approaching to land.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

Examination of the airplane by a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector found that the airplane had impacted the tops of trees and came to rest on a road in a steep nose down attitude, about 100-yards short of the runway. The propeller and spinner showed evidence of high speed rotation at the time of impact. All flight controls were intact. No evidence of precrash failure or malfunction of the aircraft structure, flight controls, or engine was found. The pilot stated that due to his injuries he had no "recollection of the accident and had lost all recent memories since the accident."

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.