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FTW92FA165

1992-06-20 · ADDISON, Texas, United States · Fatal · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport ADS

Current FAA registration · N3128M

Make / Model
PIPER J3C-65
Seats / Engines
2 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
19520809
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A351BB

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

FAILURE OF THE LEFT ELEVATOR ASSEMBLY DUE TO CORROSION.

Factual narrative

THE ENGINE HAD JUST COMPLETED MAJOR WORK AND THE AIRPLANE HAD BEEN RELEASED FOR AN ENGINE GROUND TEST RUN; THE AIRPLANE HAD NOT BEEN RETURNED TO SERVICE OR RELEASED FOR FLIGHT. APRX 1 MINUTE AFTER TAKEOFF THE PILOT REPORTED HE NEEDED TO RETURN FOR LANDING, AND WAS CLEARED FOR RIGHT TRAFFIC RWY 33. ABOUT 2 MIN LATER THE PILOT REQUESTED TO TURN BASE LEG, AND SHORTLY THEREAFTER THE AIRPLANE WAS OBSERVED TO ROLL OVER AND IMPACT INVERTED. THE LEFT ELEVATOR HORIZONTAL TUBE WHICH EXTENDS OUTBOARD FROM THE BELLCRANK HAD FAILED. CORROSION PARTICLES WERE REMOVED FROM INSIDE THE TUBE. TUBE THICKNESS OUTBOARD OF THE CORROSION AREA MEASURED 0.035 INCH. THE DIRECTOR OF MAINTENANCE STATED THAT THE AIRPLANE WAS DUE AND SCHEDULED FOR THE ANNUAL INSPECTION PRIOR TO RELEASING THE AIRPLANE FOR FLIGHT TESTING. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1992_FTW92FA165.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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