N70906 is a 1946 Piper J3C-65. It is a fixed-wing single-engine aircraft with 2 seats, powered by a Cont Motor C85 series rated at 85 horsepower. The registration is active, with the registrant based in Madera, CA. Its standard airworthiness certificate was issued in Dec 1956. It has been registered to its current owner since Feb 2024. This page also carries 1 NTSB event.
- 80 years old
- 1 of 3,209 Piper J3C-65
2024
1956
That's everything on file so far — TailWiki checks the FAA registry daily and adds new entries as N70906's record changes.
The pilot/owner and a commercial-rated pilot departed in a tandem, two-seat, tailwheel-equipped airplane on a local flight. On the return leg to the airport the commercial pilot was flying the airplane. The commercial pilot, who was seated in the rear seat, did his before-landing checks to set up for the landing; however, during the approach to the runway the engine lost power. Unable to regain engine power, they elected to conduct a forced landing in a vacant lot. During the forced landing the airplane sustained damage to the left wing and fuselage. After the accident the pilot/owner and commercial pilot discovered that the engine’s fuel shut-off valve was in the (pulled) off position. The commercial pilot reported that he flew a Cub Special (PA-11), but never the accident airplane (J3), and that the fuel shut-off valve in the J3 was in the same place as the carburetor heat in the PA-11. The commercial pilot added that the shut-off valve was not color coded or marked, and that he pulled the fuel shut-off knob mistaking it for the carburetor heat.
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About the Piper J3C-65
About the modelThe J-3 Cub: a two-seat tandem taildragger with a fabric-covered steel-tube fuselage, flown solo from the rear seat. Among the most recognisable light aircraft ever built.