Fulton County Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Rochester, Indiana 46975
Sunday, October 29, 1995 11:30 EST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

THE PILOT REPORTED THAT AFTER TAKING OFF FROM RUNWAY 29, A WIND GUST AT ABOUT 200 FEET ABOVE GROUND LEVEL (AGL) CAUSED THE AIRPLANE TO GO TO A NEAR INVERTED ATTITUDE AND STALL. HE ALSO REPORTED THAT THERE WAS INSUFFICIENT ALTITUDE TO RECOVER. THE PILOT ESTIMATED THE WIND SPEED AT 15 KNOTS WITH GUSTS TO 25 KNOTS. WITNESS'S ESTIMATED THAT THE AIRPLANE BEGAN THE RIGHT TURN BETWEEN 50 AND 200 FEET AGL. TWO WITNESS'S REPORTED THAT THE AIRPLANE APPEARED TO GO INTO A WINGOVER BEFORE IMPACTING THE GROUND.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

failure of the pilot to maintain adequate airspeed after takeoff, which resulted in a stall. A factor relating to the accident was: the gusty wind condition.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 10/29/1995
Event Day of the Week Sunday
Time of Event 1130
Event Time Zone Eastern Standard Time
Event City ROCHESTER
Event State INDIANA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 46975
Event Date Year 1995
Event Date Month 10
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude
Event Location Longitude
Event Location Airport FULTON COUNTY
Event Location Nearest Airport ID RCR
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 790
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1155 Eastern Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 175
Weather Observation Facility ID GUS
Elevation of weather observation facility 812
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 24
Time Zone of the weather observation EST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 0
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 0
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) 0
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) 0
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 10
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 2
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 280
Variable Wind Indicator Unknown
Wind Speed (knots) 18
Wind Velocity Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust Indicator Unknown
Wind Gust (knots) 23
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation Unknown
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Serious
On Ground, Fatal Injuries 0
On Ground, Minor Injuries 0
On Ground, Serious Injuries 0
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious 1
Injury Total All 1
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 1577
NTSB Notification Source --
NTSB Notification Date Oct 31 1995 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 941
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information IMAGE
Date of most recent change to record Dec 7 2000 4:39PM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office --

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N88037
NTSB Number CHI96LA022
Missing Aircraft Indicator N
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? --
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name PIPER
Aircraft Model J-3C
Aircraft Series Identifier J-3C
Aircraft Serial Number 15654
Certified Max Gross Weight 1250
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 2
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection Annual
Date of Last Inspection Sep 3 1995 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 44
Airframe Hours 5780
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name DON GILLILAND
Aircraft Owner Street Address 2245 W. ELM ST.
Aircraft Owner City LAPORTE
Aircraft Owner State IN
Aircraft Owner Country
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 46350
Operator is an individual? --
Operator Name
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? No
Operator Street Address
Operator City
Operator State
Operator Country
Operator Zip code
Operator Code
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation Unknown
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code
Departure City
Departure State
Departure Country
Departure Time 1129
Departure Time Zone EST
Destination Same as Local Flt --
Destination Airport Code 3LP
Destination City LAPORTE
Destination State IN
Destination Country
Specific Phase of Flight Takeoff
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Jan 2 2001 10:34AM
User who most recently changed record dbo
Since inspection or accident --
Event Location Runway Number and Location 29
Runway Length 4400
Runway Width 60
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --