Piper J3-C65 accident near St. Petersburg, Florida, August 20, 2000
On August 20, 2000 at about 3:12 pm local time, a Piper J3-C65, registered N70673, was substantially damaged in an accident near St. Petersburg, Florida (Albert Whitted Muni airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
Preview. This page is not yet listed for search engines.
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's improper judgment not to sit in the pilot's seat (rear seat) and improper use of brakes on landing roll resulting in a loss of directional control and subsequent nose over.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 20, 2000 · about 3:12 pm local time
- Place
- St. Petersburg, Florida · Albert Whitted Muni · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper J3-C65 · all J3-C65s on the register
- Registration
- N70673 · registry record · serial 17694
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot was flying the airplane from the front seat when it was placard by the FAA for solo flight in the rear seat only. The pilot dropped off his banner in the sod area adjacent to the runway and side stepped to the left landing on the runway. The tail of the airplane came up; he applied throttle, aft stick, and his body weight shifted forward. He inadvertently applied brakes, experienced a loss of directional control, and subsequent nose over of the airplane.
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: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 952 hours in all; 249 in the last 90 days; 68 in the last 30 days; 905 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 12,549 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, June 28, 2000; 44 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,250 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320A2B (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 36, 2,864 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 240° at 4 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 3,500 ft
- Temperature: 93°F (34°C), dew point 75°F (24°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 3:15 pm from SPG
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.
Other NTSB records under N70673 the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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 MIA00LA243.