# Accident 19971208037829A: Blanca 1730, Independence, KS, December 8, 1997

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: December 8, 1997, 15:30 local time
- Place: Independence, KS
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Scud Running
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 37.2290° N, 95.7096° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=37.2290&lon=-95.7096&mi=10
- Aircraft: N4854V, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N4854V-2018-01-24) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Bellanca 17-30 (registry code 1220432, https://openairdocs.org/model/bellanca-17-30) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Continental IO-520 series (registry code 17032, https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-io-520-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: BLANCA 1730
- Reported engine: CONT IO520D
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 2
- Pilot flight hours: 750 total
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB CHI98LA059](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI98LA059) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19971208037829A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

DEPARTED INTO IMC VFR. WING STRUCK POWER LINE WHILE FLYING LOW. TO AVOID LOW CLOUDS. (.4)THE AIRPLANE INITIALLY IMPACTED A GUY WIRE OF A 414-FOOT TOWER, ABOUT 375 FEET ABOVE GROUND LEVEL.  THE TOWER WAS LOCATED ALONG THE ROUTE OF FLIGHT, BETWEEN WICHITA, KANSAS, AND THE PILOT'S STATED DESTINATION OF HARRISON, ARKANSAS.  THE NON-INSTRUMENT RATED PILOT CALLED AND OBTAINED A TELEPHONE WEATHER BRIEFING FOR THE PROPOSED CROSS-COUNTRY FLIGHT.  THE BRIEFER SAID THE EXISTING AND FORECAST WEATHER WERE IMC WITH LOW CEILINGS AND FOG ALONG THE PROPOSED ROUTE.  A RESIDENT ABOUT ONE-QUARTER MILE FROM THE ACCIDENT SITE TOLD AUTHORITIES HE HEARD THE AIRPLANE ENGINE, WHICH BECAME SILENT, FOLLOWED BY A 'BIG THUD.'  HE ESTIMATED THE CEILING TO BE ABOUT 200 TO 300 FEET, AT THAT TIME.  SUBSEQUENT EXAMINATION OF THE AIRPLANE FAILED TO REVEAL ANY PRE-EXISTING MECHANICAL ANOMALIES.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB CHI98LA059](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI98LA059), Dec 8, 1997: Bellanca 17-30 (N4854V), Independence, KS, destroyed, 2 fatal. Probable cause: the pilot's intentional flight into adverse weather. Contributing factors were low ceilings, fog, and the guy wire.

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

---
OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.