Piper J3F 65 N29042

Summary

On 27 June 2016 at about 00:50 local time, a Piper J3F 65 registered N29042 was involved in an accident near Strasburg, Colorado, 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

27 June 2016 at 00:50

Classification

Accident

Location

Strasburg, Colorado, United States

Coordinates

39.7361, -104.3286

Aircraft

Piper J3F 65

Registration

N29042

Category

Airplane

Year built

1940

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Strasburg → Denver

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN16LA239

1 person had minor injuries.

A partial loss of engine power due to carburetor ice accumulation.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The private pilot reported that he departed an airport with full gas and headed east to another airport to perform a touch-and-go landing. After the touch-and-go landing, the engine "never really seemed to perform" on climbout. He attempted to restore power without success, and the airplane began descending. The pilot conducted a forced landing to a field, where the airplane nosed over and sustained substantial damage to the left wing and fuselage. The weather conditions at the time of the accident were conducive to serious carburetor icing at a descent power setting. The loss of engine power likely occurred due to the accumulation of carburetor ice during the descent. The formation of ice would reduce rpm but might not result in rough engine operation. Thus, the reduction in rpm could have gone unnoticed given the typical engine power setting changes when the airplane was on approach for the touch and go.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.