Piper J3F-60 N21486

Summary

On 15 October 2022 at about 02:05 local time, a Piper J3F-60 registered N21486 was involved in an accident near Herlong, Nevada, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

15 October 2022 at 02:05

Classification

Accident

Location

Herlong, Nevada, United States

Nearest airport

Dead Cow Lakebed Airstrip US-0

Coordinates

40.1404, -119.8919

Aircraft

Piper J3F-60

Registration

N21486

Category

Airplane

Year built

1938

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Dusk

NTSB number

WPR23LA018

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to maintain adequate separation during a formation flight, which resulted in an encounter with wake turbulence, an aerodynamic stall, and collision with terrain.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that, while flying in formation inbound for landing, during the base leg to final approach turn, the airplane in front of his slowed down too much and he had to maneuver to give the airplane room to land. During the maneuver, the accident airplane encountered the preceding airplane’s wake turbulence and subsequently entered a spin at about 100 ft above ground level. The pilot was able to recover from the spin and collided with the ground hard in a wings level attitude. The wings and fuselage were substantially damaged. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.