Parker Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Parker, Arizona 85344
Saturday, March 30, 2002 16:00 MST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The airplane collided with the ground following a loss of control in the takeoff initial climb and was destroyed in a ground fire about 300 yards north of the departure end of the runway. The student was receiving instruction by the certified flight instructor (CFI). Just after liftoff, the airplane assumed a nose high stall attitude and began "wallowing" with the wings rocking back and forth. The airplane never attained more than 70 feet off the ground as it flew past the departure end of runway, and, while still "wallowing," began a right crosswind turn. The right wingtip contacted the ground and the airplane cartwheeled to a stop and then caught fire. In a post accident examination, no mechanical anomalies were discovered with either the airframe systems or engine.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The failure of the student to attain and maintain an adequate airspeed following liftoff, which resulted in a stall/mush condition. Also causal was the certified flight instructor's inadequate supervision of the flight and failure to take timely remedial actions. .

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 3/30/2002
Event Day of the Week Saturday
Time of Event 1600
Event Time Zone Mountain Standard Time
Event City Parker
Event State ARIZONA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 85344
Event Date Year 2002
Event Date Month 3
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 340902N
Event Location Longitude 1141616W
Event Location Airport Parker
Event Location Nearest Airport ID KP20
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport On Airport
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 452
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1556 Pacific Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 190
Weather Observation Facility ID KBLH
Elevation of weather observation facility 397
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 37
Time Zone of the weather observation PST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 32
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 3
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 140
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 9
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) 0
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.83
Density Altitude (feet) 2659
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Fatal
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal 2
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None --
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All 2
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 14943
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Mar 30 2002 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1620
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Mar 2 2004 8:06AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office WP-FSDO-Scottsdale, AZ

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N40770
NTSB Number LAX02FA120
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire Ground
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Piper
Aircraft Model J3F-65
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 7484
Certified Max Gross Weight 1100
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 Oct 1 2001 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 4695.7
ELT Installed No
ELT Activated No
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Richard R. Robinson
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Parker
Aircraft Owner State AZ
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 85344
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name --
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
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? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
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) Instructional
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code P20
Departure City Parker
Departure State AZ
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1600
Departure Time Zone --
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code --
Destination City --
Destination State --
Destination Country --
Specific Phase of Flight Takeoff
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Nov 21 2003 4:59PM
User who most recently changed record COOS
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location 1
Runway Length 4780
Runway Width 75
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --