Piper J3C-65 accident near Mount Horeb, Wisconsin, January 14, 1996
On January 14, 1996 at about 6:25 pm local time, a Piper J3C-65, registered N1412N, was involved in an accident near Mount Horeb, Wisconsin. 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).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
failure of the pilot to see-and-avoid the pedestrian. Factors relating to the accident were: the pilot's inadequate preflight preparation, his landing on a closed airstrip, and the snow covered terrain.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 14, 1996 · about 6:25 pm local time
- Place
- Mount Horeb, Wisconsin · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper J3C-65 · all J3C-65s on the register
- Registration
- N1412N · registry record · serial 22935
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot landed at a closed airstrip after making arrangements to meet his wife there. The airstrip was marked as closed; however, it was covered with snow in the landing area. The pilot said that before landing, he saw a pedestrian along the side of the strip, who waved; he thought the pedestrian was his wife. After landing, the airplane slowed quickly on the snow covered runway. The pilot said he applied some power to continue taxiing in the snow, but the airplane was moving slowly. As the pilot was taxiing the tailwheel equipped airplane without S-turning, he was looking out the door on the right side. He said he caught a glimpse of something to his left, and at about that moment, the left strut of the airplane hit the pedestrian, who was a woman that was walking her dog on the airstrip. The pedestrian was struck in the back of the head and was seriously injured. The pilot did not obtain a weather briefing before the flight nor did he have a current sectional chart.
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
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 855 hours in all; 427 in this make and model; 5 in the last 90 days; 778 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rear
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 659 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, June 3, 1995; 10 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,220 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental A-65 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: PVT Rockton IL at 5:25 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 330° at 13 knots
- Visibility: 8 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 1,100 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 32°F (0°C), dew point 27°F (-3°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 6:56 pm from MSN, 11 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number CHI96LA078.