History of Flight
On August 22, 2021, at approximately 1300 central daylight time, a Piper J3C-65 Cub, registration N70643, was substantially damaged in an accident near Adrian, Missouri. The pilot, who was the sole occupant, was fatally injured. The flight was conducted under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight.
The pilot's wife reported that he departed from their private grass runway around 1300 for a leisure flight. She did not observe the takeoff nor hear any unusual sounds. She was unaware of his destination or expected return time. When she attempted to contact him later that evening, she did not become concerned until after dark. She searched the property and surrounding area but found no trace of the pilot or airplane. The following morning, a friend discovered the airplane in the middle of a cornfield, approximately 300 yards northwest of the private grass runway.
There were no witnesses to the accident, and no radar data were associated with the flight.
Wreckage and Impact Information
The airplane came to rest mostly intact in a nose-low, tail-high attitude, oriented on a heading of about 135°. Both wings were bent downward, and the aft wing attachment points had fractured and separated. The wingtips exhibited aft crush damage and were in contact with the ground. Flight control continuity was established throughout the airframe.
The engine and firewall were displaced aft and upward toward the left side. The left side of the engine was wedged between the wing spar and the left wing leading edge. The propeller remained attached at the hub, but the crankshaft was bent just aft of the attachment flange. Both propeller blades were mostly straight; one had chordwise scratching and a slight aft bend near midspan, while the other was largely undamaged. The spinner was pushed aft into the hub and cracked, without rotational damage.
Examination of the upper spark plugs on all four cylinders indicated normal operations. The lower spark plugs on the right side were oil-coated, consistent with the engine's final resting position; the lower left side spark plugs were inaccessible due to airframe deformation. The valve covers were removed and showed no abnormalities. The ignition harness had minor wear but remained intact. Borescope inspection of the cylinders revealed normal combustion signatures. The propeller could be rotated by hand but only through 270 degrees because of airframe deformation. Thumb compression was noted on cylinder No. 1, and the magneto impulse coupling was heard. Movement of pistons in the other three cylinders was confirmed via borescope.
The header fuel tank was empty and crushed, with a crack along its left side detected by borescope. The fuel strainer bowl was removed and found to contain automotive fuel, with debris at the bottom. The carburetor was fractured from the engine and covered in dirt; the throttle and mixture controls remained attached. When the throttle lever was manipulated manually, automotive fuel was ejected from the accelerator pump. Fuel drained from the carburetor during disassembly contained debris, but it could not be determined whether the debris was present before the accident or resulted from impact. The carburetor bowl had minor debris at its bottom, while the fuel inlet screen was clear.
Medical and Pathological Information
An autopsy performed by the Forensic Medical of Kansas in Kansas City, Kansas, determined the pilot's cause of death as multiple blunt force injuries. Toxicology testing conducted by NMS Labs on specimens from the pilot detected ethanol at 0.016 g/dL in femoral blood; ethanol was not present in vitreous fluid. No other tested substances were detected. Testing of femoral blood for opioids (including hydrocodone, dihydrocodeine, morphine, hydromorphone, codeine, 6-monoacetylmorphine, oxycodone, and oxymorphone) was negative.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Forensic Sciences Laboratory also performed toxicological testing. Ethanol was not detected in vitreous or urine. Hydrocodone was found in liver (3 ng/mL), brain (2 ng/mL), and urine. Dihydrocodeine was detected in urine but not in liver or brain. Hydromorphone and morphine were detected in urine but not brain; their results in liver were inconclusive.