Piper J3 accident near Hartford, Wisconsin, August 30, 2020
On August 30, 2020 at about 10:30 pm local time, a 1946 Piper J3, registered N88204, was substantially damaged in an accident during taxi near Hartford, Wisconsin (Hartford Municipal Airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot’s loss of situation awareness which resulted in landing in a grass area and the subsequent collision with a runway marker.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made November 2, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 30, 2020 · about 10:30 pm local time · cases in 2020
- Place
- Hartford, Wisconsin · Hartford Municipal Airport · cases near this airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper J3, built 1946 · all J3s on the register
- Registration
- N88204 · registry record · serial 15821
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot planned a personal flight to a nearby airport that had recently added new runways. Before the flight, his flight instructor sent him an airport diagram with the new grass runway marked, which was parallel to an asphalt runway. After the pilot reviewed the diagram, he thought he knew where to expect the new grass runway. While in the traffic pattern at the destination airport, the pilot noticed a large open grass space below him, so he landed the airplane. The pilot landed to the east but thought he had landed to the west. The area that he landed on was not the grass runway; while completing a fast taxi, the airplane collided with a runway marker for the north-south runway. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage and left wing spar.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
What happened, in order
- Ground collision during taxi defining event
- Wrong surface or wrong airport during taxi
The NTSB's findings
- Personnel issues › Action/decision › Info processing/decision › Identification/recognition › Pilot
- Environmental issues › Physical environment › Object/animal/substance › Sign/marker › Decision related to condition
Pilot
- Certificate: sport pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 63.2 hours in all; 45.2 in this make and model; 16.9 in the last 90 days; 5 in the last 30 days; 10.9 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: July 14, 2020
- Medical certificate: Sport Pilot
- Seat: rear
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,880 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, May 15, 2020; 15 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,220 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental C90-12F (piston); 2,074 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: ETB Westbend WI at 10:15 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 09, 2,000 ft by 200 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: dusk
- Wind: from 100° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 64°F (18°C), dew point 52°F (11°C)
- Altimeter: 29.89 inHg
- Observation at 5:35 pm from KETB
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 1 |
Photographs from the investigation 16 pictures from the NTSB's docket, as the NTSB released them
Digital Photo Description Sheet Aircraft: N88204 File #: O-20-49366 Picture No: 1 Description: Picture No: 2 Description
Digital Photo Description Sheet Aircraft: N88204 File #: O-20-49366 Picture No: 3 Description: Picture No: 4 Description
Digital Photo Description Sheet Aircraft: N88204 File #: O-20-49366 Picture No: 5 Description: Picture No: 6 Description
Digital Photo Description Sheet Aircraft: N88204 File #: O-20-49366 Picture No: 7 Description: Picture No: 8 Description
Digital Photo Description Sheet Aircraft: N88204 File #: O-20-49366 Picture No: 9 Description: Picture No: 10 Description
Digital Photo Description Sheet Aircraft: N88204 File #: O-20-49366 Picture No: 11 Description: Picture No: 12 Description
Digital Photo Description Sheet Aircraft: N88204 File #: O-20-49366 Picture No: 13 Description: Picture No: 14 Description
Digital Photo Description Sheet Aircraft: N88204 File #: O-20-49366 Picture No: 15 Description: Picture No: 16 Description
Digital Photo Description Sheet Aircraft: N88204 File #: O-20-49366 Picture No: 17 Description: Picture No: 18 Description
Digital Photo Description Sheet Aircraft: N88204 File #: O-20-49366 Picture No: 19 Description: Picture No: 20 Description
Digital Photo Description Sheet Aircraft: N88204 File #: O-20-49366 Picture No: 21 Description: Picture No: 22 Description
Digital Photo Description Sheet Aircraft: N88204 File #: O-20-49366 Picture No: 23 Description: Picture No: 24 Description
Digital Photo Description Sheet Aircraft: N88204 File #: O-20-49366 Picture No: 25 Description: Picture No: 26 Description
Digital Photo Description Sheet Aircraft: N88204 File #: O-20-49366 Picture No: 27 Description: Picture No: 28 Description
Digital Photo Description Sheet Aircraft: N88204 File #: O-20-49366 Picture No: 29 Description: Picture No: 30 Description
Digital Photo Description Sheet Aircraft: N88204 File #: O-20-49366 Picture No: 31 Description: Picture No: 32 DescriptionThe NTSB's photographs with the NTSB's captions, at screen size. Open a picture to see it full size or to report one that should not be shown.
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
3 documents, released by the NTSB on July 2, 2021. View them here, or download them; the NTSB redacts some personal details before release, and this site shows the NTSB's own titles rather than its file names.
| # | Document | What it is | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pilot/operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 | PDF, 9 pages | View Download |
| 2 | Correspondence - Accident Pilot | PDF, 2 pages | View Download |
| 3 | Photos | PDF, 16 pages · our copy | View Download |
The same docket at the NTSB · documents without a copy here are fetched from the NTSB when you open them.
Connections how this case links to the rest of the register
- N88204 on the register today · the tail number may have moved to another aircraft since
- Piper J-3 Cub 3,804 registered today · the model family and its accident history
- Piper 44,842 aircraft on the register
- Engine: Continental C90-12F 54 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- Hartford Municipal · nearest airport
- West Bend Municipal · departed from
- Accidents and incidents in Wisconsin 1,622 since 1982 · 226 in the last ten years
- Wisconsin 6,162 aircraft registered
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/accident/CEN20LA436.json.
The bigger picture in Aviation Analytics: accidents over time since 1982, by model, by phase of flight and conditions, by place and on the map.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text does not name anyone involved, its policy at this time. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.