Primary finding
Probable cause
Failure of the pilot to maintain adequate terrain clearance. A factor was the intentional low pass performed by the pilot in command.
Investigator assessment
Analysis narrative
Witnesses said the airplane made a low pass over a tractor being operated by the pilot's brother. The airplane then descended into an irrigation ditch. The landing gear struck the ditch and the airplane came to rest inverted.
Source record
Factual narrative
On July 27, 1993, at approximately 1939 mountain daylight time, a Piper J3C-90, N33111, collided with terrain while maneuvering near Meeker, Colorado. The airplane was destroyed and the private pilot was seriously injured. The passenger sustained minor injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the local personal flight. The pilot had no recollection of the events surrounding the accident. Witnesses, however, revealed the following information during interviews conducted by Federal Aviation Administration inspectors and local authorities. The airplane approached from the east end of a hay field where one of the witnesses, the pilot's brother, was operating a tractor. The airplane passed over the tractor at approximately 75 feet, then descended into an irrigation ditch. The main gear struck the other side of the ditch and the airplane came to rest inverted. -