PIPER J3

Full Narrative

On September 28, 2014, about 1450 Alaska daylight time, a Piper J-3 airplane, N7092H, sustained substantial damage after colliding with terrain following a loss of engine power about 20 miles north of Circle, Alaska. The airplane was owned and operated by the private pilot as a personal flight under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) flight plan had been filed for the flight.

On the day of the accident, the National Transportation Safety Board investigator-in-charge was notified that an airplane had crashed and that the pilot was taken to a hospital for treatment and released. In the weeks following the accident, multiple attempts were made to contact the pilot by both the NTSB and FAA, with no success.

On April 1, 2015, the accident pilot contacted the FAA and made a statement about the accident. He stated that he was returning from his homestead about 140 miles north of Circle, and about 20 miles north of Circle, the airplane's engine lost all power. He made a forced landing in a burned out area of trees, and the airplane sustained damage to both wing, the left wing spar, and the fuselage. After the forced landing, he stated that he noticed the right hand wing fuel cap was missing. He stated that he had added five gallons of fuel to the right fuel tank before departing, and flew with the fuel selector on the right fuel tank for the entire flight before the engine lost power. He stated that after the engine lost power, he did not attempt to switch the fuel selector to the left fuel tank.

The airplane was not examined by the NTSB, and after repeated attempts, the pilot did not submit an NTSB Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report (NTSB Form 6120.1)