Piper PA-18A N3352B

Summary

On 4 March 2009 at about 21:00 local time, a Piper PA-18A registered N3352B was involved in an accident near Wood Lake, Nebraska, 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

4 March 2009 at 21:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Wood Lake, Nebraska, United States

Coordinates

42.8702, -100.5499

Aircraft

Piper PA-18A

Registration

N3352B

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Wood Lake → Wood Lake

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN09LA190

2 people were seriously injured.

The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed during the initial climb, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot and passenger departed on the flight to conduct an aerial view of the surrounding area. According to the passenger, shortly after taking off of the grass field runway, and approximately 50 feet in the air, the airplane turned sharply to the right and dove to the ground. The airplane impacted terrain in a nose-down attitude. There were no reported ground witnesses to the accident and the pilot has no memory of the crash. The passenger, who had only flown in a small airplane once before, reported that the lift-off appeared "smooth" and that he didn't hear any changes in the engine sound or an "[engine] cough." An examination of the airplane failed to identify any preimpact abnormalities with the engine or airframe.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.