# Accident 20220716012429A: Aeronca 7BCM, Lake Mcmurray, WA, July 16, 2022

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: July 16, 2022, 23:00 local time
- Place: Lake Mcmurray, WA
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Cruise/Level Flight
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 48.3092° N, 122.2555° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=48.3092&lon=-122.2555&mi=10
- Aircraft: N2588C, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N2588C-2023-03-22) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Aeronca 7BCM (registry code 2110106, https://openairdocs.org/model/aeronca-7bcm) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Continental C85 series (registry code 17008, https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-c85-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: AERONCA 7BCM
- Reported engine: CONT MOTOR C85 SERIES
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 1
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Private pilot
- Pilot flight hours: 2,303 total
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB WPR22FA255](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR22FA255) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20220716012429A

## Narrative

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

ON JULY 16, 2022 AT APPROXIMATELY 13:20 PDT THE WESTERN REGIONAL OPERATIONS CENTER ISSUED AN ALERT NOTICE (ALNOT) DUE TO FAMILY CONCERNS OF A MISSING AIRCRAFT THAT DEPARTED FRONTIER AIRPARK (WN53) AT APPROXIMATELY 0715 WITH A VFR FLIGHT PLAN FOR A FLIGHT FROM FRONTIER AIRPARK (WN53) TO ARLINGTON AIRPORT (AWO) TO CONCRETE AIRPORT (3W5) THAT WAS OVERDUE WITH NO LAST POSITION REPORTED. THE ALNOT WAS CANCELLED ON JULY 16, 2022 AT 2300 WHEN THE AIRCRAFT WRECKAGE WAS LOCATED NEAR LAKE MCMURRAY WA.

ON JULY 17, 2022 AT APPROXIMATELY 1100, THIS OFFICE WAS CONTACTED BY THE WESTERN REGIONAL OPERATIONS CENTER WITH INFORMATION ON AN AIRCRAFT N2588C, A 1947 AERONCA 7BCM SERIAL NUMBER 7BCM-85. THE WESTERN REGIONAL OPERATIONS CENTER ISSUED A REPORT THAT INCLUDED THAT THE AIRCRAFT HAD IMPACTED WOODEN TERRAIN NEAR LAKE MCMURRAY, WITH A POST-ACCIDENT FIRE WITH ONE SOUL ONBOARD THAT HAD NOT SURVIVED. IN THAT REPORT IT HAD BEEN NOTED THAT THE IDENTITY OF THE DECEASED WAS UNKNOWN AT THAT TIME.

THE AIRCRAFT WAS LOCATED APPROXIMATELY 15 MILES NORTHEAST OF THE ARLINGTON AIRPORT (AWO),NEAR LAKE MCMURRAY WASHINGTON WHERE IT WAS DETERMINED THAT THERE WERE NO SURVIVORS. THE WRECKAGE AND TERRAIN OBSERVED AT THE ACCIDENT SITE HAD SHOWN THAT THE AIRCRAFT APPEARED TO IMPACT THE TREES IN A LEVEL FLIGHT ATTITUDE. PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE AIRCRAFT WERE TAKEN AT THE ACCIDENT SCENE. IT WAS DETERMINED LATER BY THE CORONER?S OFFICE THAT ONLY ONE OCCUPANT WAS IN THE AIRCRAFT AND IT WAS THE PILOT IN COMMAND. A REVIEW OF METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS AT THE ARLINGTON AIRPORT (AWO) FOR THE MORNING OF JULY 16, 2022 REVEALED THE AIRPORT HAD OVERCAST CONDITIONS AT 1300 FEET ABOVE THE AIRPORT.

REVIEW OF THE AIRCRAFT RECORDS HAD SHOWN THE LAST ANNUAL INSPECTION WAS PERFORMED ON THE AIRCRAFT AUGUST 2, 2021. THIS OFFICE WAS ABLE TO DETERMINE THAT THE PILOT IN COMMAND'S LAST BIENNIAL FLIGHT REVIEW WAS ON AUGUST 7, 2020. FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION RECORDS INDICATE THAT THE PILOT IN COMMAND?S BASIC MEDICAL HAD EXPIRED APRIL 2022. POST AIRCRAFT ACCIDENT EXAMINATION OF THE AIRCRAFT WAS PERFORMED ON JULY 22, 2022. THE EXAMINATION REVEALED THAT IT APPEARS THERE WERE NO FAILURES OF THE FLIGHT CONTROL SYSTEM OR OF THE ENGINE.

## 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 WPR22FA255](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR22FA255), Jul 16, 2022: Aeronca 7BCM (N2588C), Lake McMurray, WA, destroyed, 1 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot’s decision to continue visual flight into an area of instrument meteorological conditions, which resulted in a loss of visual reference and subsequent controlled flight into terrain.

## Other reports on N2588C (1)

Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.

- [Incident 19930521020189I](https://openairdocs.org/incident/19930521020189I), May 21, 1993: Bbavia 7BCM (N2588C), Monroe, WA, Minor damage. Student lost directional control on rollout. Veered off runway into a wet marshy area.

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.

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