N77EC – PIPER J3F-65 – 2012-06-21 NTSB Accident Report

On June 21, 2012, a Piper J3F-65 (N77EC) was involved in an incident near Beluga, AK. All 1 person aboard were uninjured. The aircraft sustained substantial damage.

The National Transportation Safety Board determined the probable cause of this incident to be: The pilot's delayed decision to go around, which resulted in a hard landing.

The pilot stated that he had been landing his tailwheel-equipped airplane at an off-airport site. On his third landing attempt, he elected to go around, but the airplane landed hard. During the landing, the left main landing gear broke, and the left wing contacted terrain, sustaining substantial damage to the wing spar.

In his written statement to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the pilot stated that the airplane may not have been developing full power, but in a telephone conversation with the NTSB investigator-in-charge he said, "the engine was running good when the prop hit."

This incident is documented in NTSB report ANC12CA081. AviatorDB cross-references NTSB investigation data with FAA registry records to provide comprehensive safety information for aircraft N77EC.