Taunton Muni Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Taunton, Massachusetts 02718
Wednesday, April 2, 2003 14:35 EST

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

According to the pilot, prior to takeoff, he noted the wind sock was 70 to 90 degrees different to the wind he physically felt on the ground. He departed runway 30, and while in flight he observed smoke near the airport which indicated a crosswind of approximately 135 degrees to the runway, which he thought appeared to be the same as on take off. The pilot said when he landed on runway 30, the wind shifted and the tail of the airplane was picked up by the "tail/cross wind." The airplane then veered left and started to depart the runway. Unable to correct with rudder or brakes, the pilot applied full power to abort the landing. After lift off, to avoid trees, the pilot banked right which, "...caused the right wing to stall and slide into the ground by the wind sock." The pilot did not report any pre-impact mechanical difficulties with the airplane. Winds at the airport were reported to be from 110 degrees at 7 knots about 20 minutes after the accident, and as calm 45 minutes before the accident.

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's inadequate compensation for the winds, and his failure to maintain airspeed which resulted in the inadvertent stall. A factor in the accident was the tailwind.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 4/2/2003
Event Day of the Week Wednesday
Time of Event 1435
Event Time Zone Eastern Standard Time
Event City Taunton
Event State MASSACHUSETTS
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 02718
Event Date Year 2003
Event Date Month 4
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 415217N
Event Location Longitude 0710035W
Event Location Airport TAUNTON MUNI
Event Location Nearest Airport ID TAN
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 43
Weather Briefing Completeness Unknown
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1452 Eastern Standard Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) --
Weather Observation Facility ID TAN
Elevation of weather observation facility 43
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) --
Time Zone of the weather observation EST
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height 6000
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions --
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling Overcast
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 10
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 10
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 1
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 110
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 7
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.97
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation Light
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 1
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 16768
NTSB Notification Source New England Region
NTSB Notification Date Apr 2 2003 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 1530
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Dec 7 2004 11:17AM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Boston

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N88387
NTSB Number NYC03LA078
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Substantial
Aircraft Fire None
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Piper
Aircraft Model J3C-65
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 16005
Certified Max Gross Weight --
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 Jun 24 2002 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection --
Airframe Hours 4704
ELT Installed Unknown
ELT Activated Unknown
ELT Aided Location of Event Site Unknown
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name William E. Taylor
Aircraft Owner Street Address PO Box 361
Aircraft Owner City North Attleboro
Aircraft Owner State MA
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 02761
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) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event Yes
Departure Airport Code TAN
Departure City Taunton
Departure State MA
Departure Country USA
Departure Time --
Departure Time Zone EST
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code TAN
Destination City --
Destination State --
Destination Country --
Specific Phase of Flight Landing - aborted
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Feb 13 2004 10:31AM
User who most recently changed record PEAR
Since inspection or accident Last Inspection
Event Location Runway Number and Location 30
Runway Length 3500
Runway Width 75
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --