Piper J3C-65 accident at Birmingham, Alabama, 18 Oct 1943

Accident narrative

On October 16, 1943, a Piper J3C-65 crashed after striking a power line about three miles northwest of the Municipal Airport in Birmingham, Alabama, fatally injuring pilot Ira Morgan Gillespie.

The aircraft departed Birmingham Municipal Airport at approximately 1:30 p.m. to ferry the plane to Roberts Field for instruction purposes. Gillespie held a commercial pilot certificate and had flown around 100 solo hours in the aircraft type.

Minutes after takeoff, railroad employees observed two airplanes flying low and parallel to the tracks. The second plane was about 400 feet behind and slightly lower than the first. The lead plane pulled up to clear a power line about 75 feet above the tracks. The second pilot apparently saw the wires too late. Pulling into a climbing turn, his left wing struck the line. The Piper crashed through trees to the ground and burst into flames. Witnesses agreed the engine was operating normally before the impact.

The investigation noted that the poles supporting the power line stood on ridges on either side of a narrow valley, causing the wires to sag lower in the center over the tracks. The Board also found that the accident site was northwest of the departure airport, which was not on the southerly direct course to Roberts Field. The lead pilot could not be identified, as pilots known to be airborne at the time denied being in the vicinity.

The Board determined the probable cause was "the pilot's failure to clear an obstruction in his flight path while flying at a dangerously low altitude."