Accident Overview
On April 26, 2021, about 1711 central daylight time, a Piper J3C-65 airplane, registration N26783, was substantially damaged when it collided with terrain near Slaughter, Louisiana. The pilot sustained serious injuries, and the pilot-rated passenger was fatally injured. The flight was conducted as a personal flight under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91.
Pre-Accident Examination
Approximately six months before the accident, the pilot and the owner of the airplane examined the aircraft. During that inspection, they started the engine, but it sounded abnormal, so they shut it down. Upon further examination, the owner discovered and removed a mud dauber nest in the throat of the carburetor. No flight was conducted that day.
On the day of the accident, the pilot and a friend (the pilot-rated passenger) returned to inspect the airplane again before flying. They found two additional mud dauber nests in the engine compartment. One of these nests was located inside the scat tube that ran from the exhaust to the carburetor heat. According to the pilot, the fuel tanks were full, the engine was started, and a full run-up was performed with no noted problems. The pilot cycled the carburetor heat as part of the before-takeoff checklist.
Accident Flight
Before takeoff, the pilot observed some movement in the treetops nearby, but the windsock indicated no wind. He elected to take off to the north. A pre-takeoff check and another engine run-up were completed. The pilot reported a normal takeoff initially. During climbout, he looked over the left shoulder of the pilot-rated passenger, who was in the front seat, and noted an airspeed of about 50 knots and a tachometer reading of about 2,500 rpm. At that moment, he felt the airplane "surge." The pilot attributed the surge to the wind and began a shallow left turn toward some trees with lower treetops. This was the pilot's last memory of the flight.
Witness Observations
A witness observed the airplane flying from south to north at a low altitude and thought it was "drifting" and about to crash. The airplane then initiated a turn, its nose "went up sharply," and it descended nose-first into the ground. The witness reported that the engine did not appear to be running at the time of the crash.
Postaccident Examination
Postaccident examination revealed substantial damage to the fuselage and left wing. The engine had been pushed up and aft into the forward cabin. The propeller remained attached to the engine; one blade was straight, while the other was bent aft approximately 20 degrees. Neither blade exhibited chordwise scraping or leading-edge nicks. Examination of the airframe, engine, and magnetos revealed no anomalies. Weather conditions at the time of the accident were conducive to carburetor icing at glide power.