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ATL87LA246

1987-08-30 · GREENVILLE, Kentucky, United States · Minor · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport M21

Current FAA registration · N92191

Make / Model
PIPER J3C-65
Year of manufacture
1946 · 41 years old at event
Engine
CONT MOTOR A&C65 SERIES (65 hp)
Seats / Engines
2 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
19730530
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S ACC58E

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Factual narrative

THE FLT WAS BEING CONDUCTED AS PART OF A 'CLOWN ACT' AT AN AIR SHOW. THE ENG LOST PWR SHORTLY AFTER TAKEOFF AS THE PLT WAS PERFORMING PITCHING MANEUVERS. HE UNSUCCESSFULLY ATTEMPTED TO REGAIN PWR BY 'PUMPING' THE THROTTLE. THE AIRPLANE SUBSEQUENTLY IMPACTED TREES. A POST-CRASH EXAM OF THE AIRPLANE REVEALED THE GASCOLATOR WAS ABOUT 90% FULL OF WATER AND 10% FULL OF FUEL. HOWEVER, THE CONTENTS OF THE CARBURETOR WAS MOSTLY FUEL WITH ABOUT 1 TO 2 TEASPOONS OF WATER. A SMALL AMOUNT OF TRASH WAS ALSO PRESENT IN FUEL THAT WAS DRAINED FROM THE CARBURETOR. THE CARBURETOR WAS NOT EQUIPPED WITH AN ACCELERATOR PUMP. NO WATER WAS FOUND IN THE FUEL TANK. THE PLT REPORTED THAT NO WATER WAS OBTAINED WHEN FUEL WAS DRAINED FROM THE FUEL TANK PRIOR TO FLT. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1987_ATL87LA246.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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