Piper J3C-65 accident at Missoula, Montana, 10 Sept 1943 (NC-35707)

Accident narrative

On September 10, a mid-air collision three miles southwest of Hale Field in Missoula, Montana, fatally injured all four occupants of two Piper J3C-65 training aircraft. The airplanes, NC 35707 and NC 35851, were demolished.

The aircraft were owned by the Defense Plant Corporation and operated by Johnson Flying Service, Inc. Instructor Stanley Hillman and student William T. Richards were aboard NC 35707; instructor Clyde Reynolds and student Robert Schwenter were in NC 35851. Both instructors held commercial certificates and flight instructor ratings. The students were War Training Service trainees in an Army indoctrination course.

The flights departed Hale Field to practice low-altitude maneuvers. There were no known witnesses to the collision, though another instructor flying nearby had observed two planes in the practice area at about 500 feet shortly before seeing the wreckage on the ground.

Investigators found the aircraft about 1,000 feet apart, with no evidence of pre-impact failure. Evidence indicated the airplanes were flying at low altitude in opposite directions and collided almost head-on while both were making left turns banked at around 30 degrees. This attitude would place each in a blind position to the other. Weather was suitable for flying and was not considered a factor.

Following the accident, the operator implemented rules restricting practice areas to no more than two airplanes at a time, with one required to perform high-altitude maneuvers while the other practiced low-altitude sequences.

The Board determined the probable cause of this accident was "lack of vigilance of the occupants of both aircraft while engaged in maneuvers which required close reference to the ground."