NTSB MIA88FA184 — 1988-06-01 · N FORT MYERS, Florida, United States

Current FAA registration · N98178

Make / Model: PIPER J3C-65
Year of manufacture: 1946 · 42 years old at event
Engine: CONT MOTOR C85 SERIES (85 hp)
Seats / Engines: 2 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date: 19570218
ADS-B equipped: Yes — Mode-S ADB249

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

N98178 Piper J3C Fatal

Factual narrative

THE PLT TKOF ON RWY 27 WITH THE WIND FM 060 DEG AT 12 GUSTING 23 KTS. DENSITY ALT WAS 2100'. WITNESSES SAID THE ACFT WAS IN A SLOW SPEED, NOSE HI CLIMB, WHEN ENG PWR WAS INTERRUPTED MOMENTARILY. PWR WAS RESTORED, BUT SOON THEREAFTER, THE ACFT ROLLED RGT, ENTERED A DSCNT FM ABT 200' AGL & CRASHED IN A STEEP NOSE-DOWN ATTITUDE. NO PREIMPACT MECHANICAL FAILURE WAS FND. THE ACFT HAD BEEN SVCD WITH AUTO FUEL, BUT NO STC HAD BEEN APPROVED FOR SUCH FUEL. NO WEIGHT & BALANCE (W/B) INFO WAS AVAILABLE IN THE LOGS. USING W/B INFO FROM WHEN THE ACFT WAS MANUFACTURED, CORRECTED FOR INSTALLATION OF FUEL TANKS, THE ACFT WAS ESTD TO HAVE BEEN 68 LBS OVER ITS MAX GROSS WT LIMIT. THE TEMP & DEW POINT WERE 89 & 68 DEGS, RESPECTIVELY. ACCORDING TO ICING PROBABILITY CHARTS, SERIOUS CARB ICING COULD HAVE OCCURRED AT GLIDE POWER. THE CARB HEAT WAS FND IN THE COLD OR OFF POSITION. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database (Pre-2008 Archive) Retrieved: 2026-02-12

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_1988_MIA88FA184.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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