ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 281076
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| Date: | Wednesday 3 August 2022 |
| Time: | 17:25 |
| Type: |  Piper J3C-65 Cub |
| Owner/operator: | Private |
| Registration: | N88550 |
| MSN: | 16175 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1946 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Cynthiana-Harrison County Airport (0I8), Cynthiana, KY -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Approach |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Cynthiana-Harrison County Airport, KY (0I8) |
| Cynthiana-Harrison County Airport, KY (0I8) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
On August 3, 2022, about 1725 eastern daylight time a Piper J3C-65, N88550, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident at Cynthiana-Harrison County Airport (0I8), Cynthiana, Kentucky. The passenger sustained fatal injuries and the private pilot was seriously injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91 personal flight.
The pilot and his passenger departed the airport for a personal flight but shortly after takeoff, the pilot elected to return to the airport. Witnesses stated that a thunderstorm was coming in from the south. Meteorological data showed an approaching area of convection with tops at 45,000 ft. The pilot attempted to return to the airport and did not fly a standard airport traffic pattern; instead, he approached from the north, unusually low over the tree line, crossing midfield, then made a sharp left turn to join the downwind traffic, before turning left again to land. As the airplane crossed over the runway perpendicular to the runway numbers, it suddenly entered a left descending spiral and impacted terrain adjacent to the runway. The postaccident examination of the engine and airframe, combined with the examination of the impact site, revealed no anomalous findings that would have precluded normal airplane or engine performance. It is likely that shortly after the pilot took off, he witnessed the approaching convective activity and attempted to rush back to the airport to land before the storm arrived, as evident from his nonstandard approach to landing. About the time of the accident, witnesses described a rapid wind shift accompanied by an increase in wind speed and a rapidly decreasing temperature. Witness observations were consistent with experiencing convective outflow from the nearby convective activity and are validated by the weather radar and data that suggest the convective cell was decaying and nearby convection was forming; weather conditions were changing rapidly, and the winds were likely shifting. As the pilot performed the low and nonstandard approach, he likely turned steeply to the left after crossing over the runway numbers; exacerbated by a left quartering crosswind during his turn, he exceeded the airplane’s critical angle of attack and entered a subsequent aerodynamic stall and loss of control.
Probable Cause: The pilot’s failure to maintain adequate airspeed and his exceedance of the airplane’s critical angle of attack, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall while maneuvering to land with approaching convective activity.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
https://www.lex18.com/news/one-person-dead-one-injured-in-a-plane-crash-in-cynthiana
https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=105660
https://registry.faa.gov/AircraftInquiry/Search/NNumberResult?nNumberTxt=88550
https://www.airport-data.com/aircraft/photo/000825198.html (photo)
Location
Images:
Photos: NTSB
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 04-Aug-2022 04:33 | Geno | Added |
| 04-Aug-2022 18:40 | AgOps | Updated [Time, Operator, Nature, Source] |
| 09-Aug-2022 05:22 | Anon. | Updated [Operator] |
| 18-Aug-2022 08:58 | Captain Adam | Updated [Time, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative, Category] |
| 15-Dec-2023 17:10 | Captain Adam | Updated [Phase, Source, Narrative, Accident report, Photo] |
| 15-Dec-2023 17:12 | Captain Adam | Updated [Photo] |
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