Aircraft and Pilot Information
The accident involved a Piper J3 Cub, registration HB-OII, powered by a 65 hp Continental engine with a McCauley metal propeller. The aircraft was privately owned and had been imported from France in September 1963. Its construction year was unknown (circa 1942/1944). At the time of the accident, it had accumulated 1139 hours since import. The student pilot, born in 1935, held a student license for motor and glider flying issued on 28 August 1967, with an extension for solo cross-country flights from 19 December 1967. He had begun training in August 1967 and logged 60 total hours with 400 landings, including 35 hours and 200 landings solo. In the three months prior, he flew 30 hours with 130 landings, of which 5 hours and 12 landings were solo. His flight instructor, born in 1921, held a private pilot license since 13 July 1943 and a flight instructor endorsement for private pilots since 5 August 1955, with 3500 total hours (120 in the last three months). No adverse incidents were recorded for either pilot in the files of the Federal Air Office.
Accident Sequence
On the morning of 2 June 1968, the flight instructor assigned the student to practice the Private Pilot test program. The student took off solo and successfully completed the first exercise: a spot landing with power within 50 meters. He then began a signal landing, intending to execute a spot landing without engine power within 100 meters. After a glide, the approach became low. Over the vegetation in front of the runway, the student initiated the flare. According to his own statement, he was determined to reach the target without adding power. He misjudged his altitude, and the main landing gear contacted the vegetation 28 meters before the runway threshold. The aircraft was dragged to a stop and nosed over just before the runway start. The accident occurred at 1028 hours.
Damage
The student pilot was uninjured. The aircraft sustained damage to the propeller and the vertical stabilizer. The damage cost was estimated at approximately 30% of the aircraft's value. No significant third-party damage occurred.
Discussion and Findings
The student pilot was on the verge of taking his Private Pilot test. Based on his training level, he should have been capable of executing the required signal landing. The tall grass immediately in front of the runway had an unfavorable influence on the spot landing. Although the instructor had moved the measurement start point 50 meters after the runway threshold and marked it with an orange flag, inexperienced student pilots perceive tall grass as an obstacle. Because the student failed to apply power, ground contact before the runway was unavoidable. The grass braked the aircraft so strongly that it nosed over. The report concluded that the accident occurred because the student pilot did not take corrective action during an undershoot approach and the aircraft contacted the tall grass in front of the runway.