Piper J3C-65 N209RC

Summary

On 21 August 2010 at about 16:10 local time, a Piper J3C-65 registered N209RC, operated by Capece Richard N, was involved in an accident near Williamstown, New Jersey, United States. One person was on board and one 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

21 August 2010 at 16:10

Classification

Accident

Location

Williamstown, New Jersey, United States

Nearest airport

Southern Cross Airport (C01)

Coordinates

39.6556, -75.0144

Aircraft

Piper J3C-65

Registration

N209RC

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Capece Richard N

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Williamstown → Williamstown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA10LA437

1 person had minor injuries.

The partial loss of engine power during takeoff due to weak spark plugs on the No. 1 cylinder.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane had not been flown recently so the pilot elected to conduct two preflight inspections, an engine run-up, and two full-power takeoff test runs where the airplane became momentarily airborne with no discrepancies noted. During the accident flight takeoff, the airplane accelerated and became airborne at the same point along the runway as it had during the two test runs. While climbing out on the runway heading, the pilot noticed that the engine was suddenly no longer developing full takeoff power. He decided that the airplane was too far down the runway to abort the takeoff and continued the forward flight path. The airplane cleared powerlines at the departure end of the runway and the pilot maneuvered to perform a forced landing in an adjacent field. The airplane then collided with the tops of trees and impacted an unoccupied parked car. A postaccident inspection of the engine revealed weak spark from both spark plugs of the No. 1 cylinder, and the bottom plugs in the remaining cylinders were oil soaked and exhibited weak spark. The cylinders were replaced about 4 years prior to the accident equating to 6 flight hours.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.