Piper J3C-65 N88218 accident near Boonville, Indiana

Preliminary information

On October 18, 2026, about 1500 central daylight time, a Piper J3C-65 airplane, N88218, was involved in an accident near Boonville, Indiana. The pilot was not injured and a passenger in a vehicle that was struck by the airplane was fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91 personal flight.

The pilot reported that he departed from runway 9 at the Boonville Airport (I91), and shortly afterward returned to make a low approach to runway 27. He flew in ground effect until reaching the west end of the runway where he climbed, performed an “impossible turn,” and glided toward runway 9. He then applied full throttle when he was on short final for runway 9 and entered a climbing right turn to establish the airplane on a left downwind for runway 27. He then made a descending 180° turn to final approach. The approach was steep and carried the airplane down the runway.

The pilot flew in ground effect with minimal throttle until about 2/3 of the way down the runway where he applied full throttle. He kept the airplane in ground effect as airspeed increased. When at the departure end of runway 27 and still at a low altitude, the airplane impacted a car traveling northbound on South Baker Road, which passed along the west edge of the airport. The pilot stated that he did not see the car traveling northbound until it was in front of him due to tall weeds, shadows cast on the road by trees, and the dark color of the car. He attempted to pull up to avoid the collision but was not able to. The airplane continued to fly, and the pilot circled the airport for about 2 hours before landing on runway 9. The pilot estimated that the airplane’s speed was about 70 mph at the time of the impact.

The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. The left main landing gear was separated from the airplane during the impact. The right side of the car was impacted and damaged. The passenger of the car, who was seated in the front right seat was transported to the hospital with serious injuries and later succumbed to those injuries. The driver of the car and the pilot were not injured.

Text from the NTSB; a preliminary report can change and names no cause. Open the NTSB docket for CEN27LA021 for the full record.