Lake Ridge Aero Park Airport
Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Durham, North Carolina 27704
Friday, May 30, 2008 18:54 EDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

Examination of the airplane by a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector found that the airplane had impacted the tops of trees and came to rest on a road in a steep nose down attitude, about 100-yards short of the runway. The propeller and spinner showed evidence of high speed rotation at the time of impact. All flight controls were intact. No evidence of precrash failure or malfunction of the aircraft structure, flight controls, or engine was found. The pilot stated that due to his injuries he had no "recollection of the accident and had lost all recent memories since the accident."

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot's failure to maintain clearance from trees while approaching to land.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 5/30/2008
Event Day of the Week Friday
Time of Event 1854
Event Time Zone Eastern Daylight Time
Event City Durham
Event State NORTH CAROLINA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 27704
Event Date Year 2008
Event Date Month 5
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude 360322N
Event Location Longitude 0784700W
Event Location Airport Lake Ridge Aero Park
Event Location Nearest Airport ID 8NC8
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles 1
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation 309
Weather Briefing Completeness --
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1851 Eastern Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 60
Weather Observation Facility ID RDU
Elevation of weather observation facility 435
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 7
Time Zone of the weather observation EDT
Lighting Conditions Dusk
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height 4500
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Few
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) 28
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 17
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 210
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 11
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 30.06
Density Altitude (feet) --
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury Serious
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
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) 25210
NTSB Notification Source FAA Southern ROC
NTSB Notification Date May 30 2008 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time --
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information --
Date of most recent change to record Mar 16 2009 12:59PM
User who most recently changed record kenj
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Greensboro FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N3544N
NTSB Number MIA08LA109
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 22778
Certified Max Gross Weight 1220
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class --
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats 1
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats 1
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 Mar 1 2008 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 40.6
Airframe Hours 2719
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type Unknown
Aircraft Owner Name Richard R. Fuller
Aircraft Owner Street Address --
Aircraft Owner City Durham
Aircraft Owner State NC
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 27704
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name Richard R. Fuller
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City Durham
Operator State NC
Operator Country USA
Operator Zip code 27704
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? No
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 8NC8
Departure City Durham
Departure State NC
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1834
Departure Time Zone EDT
Destination Same as Local Flt crash at destination city
Destination Airport Code 8NC8
Destination City Durham
Destination State NC
Destination Country USA
Specific Phase of Flight Approach
Report sent to ICAO? --
Evacuation occurred --
Date of most recent change to record Mar 16 2009 12:59PM
User who most recently changed record kenj
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location N/A
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --