Piper J3C 65 N26105

Summary

On 10 September 2014 at about 17:09 local time, a Piper J3C 65 registered N26105, operated by Heimos Bernard F, was involved in an accident near Carrol County, Virginia, 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

10 September 2014 at 17:09

Classification

Accident

Location

Carrol County, Virginia, United States

Coordinates

36.6361, -80.7200

Aircraft

Piper J3C 65

Registration

N26105

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Heimos Bernard F

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Beckley → Winston Salem

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

IMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA14LA433

1 person was seriously injured.

The pilot’s failure to maintain clearance from trees during an emergency landing after encountering deteriorating weather conditions. Contributing to the accident was the pilot’s poor preflight weather planning, which resulted in an inadvertent encounter with instrument meteorological conditions.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot was conducting a multi-leg, cross-country flight in an airplane that was not equipped to fly in instrument meteorological conditions (IMC). Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the departure airport; however, IMC existed along the route of flight. Although the pilot was instrument-rated, he had not completed an instrument proficiency check in 9 years. The pilot reported that, about 1 hour 30 minutes into the flight, the airplane encountered deteriorating weather conditions and that he then attempted an emergency landing on an interstate highway; the airplane subsequently impacted trees and terrain. The pilot could not recall if he checked the weather conditions before departure. He further reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or anomalies with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The recorded weather at an airport located about 1 mile from the accident site included visibility less than 1/4 statute mile about the time of the accident. An airmen's meteorological information (AIRMET) for mountain obscuration due to clouds and mist was in effect at the time of the accident for the area around the accident site.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.