# Accident 20240222001569A: Aeronca 7AC, Calaveras, CA, February 22, 2024

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: February 22, 2024, 16:30 local time
- Place: Calaveras, CA
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Maneuver
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 38.1696° N, 120.7559° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=38.1696&lon=-120.7559&mi=10
- Aircraft: N1611E, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N1611E) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Aeronca 7AC (registry code 2110102, https://openairdocs.org/model/aeronca-7ac) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Continental A&C65 series (registry code 17003, https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-a-c65-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: AERONCA 7AC
- Reported engine: CONT MOTOR A&C65 SERIES
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 1
- Pilot certificates: Private pilot, student
- Pilot flight hours: 265 total, 90 in this make and model, 20 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB WPR24LA094](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR24LA094) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20240222001569A

## Narrative

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

PILOT WAS RETURNING TO HER HOME FIELD AFTER COMPLETING A LESSON IN PREPARATION FOR A COMMERCIAL PILOT PRACTICAL TEST. SHE STATED WHILE ENROUTE SHE WAS PRACTICING SOME OF THE MANEUVERS FROM THE LESSON. UPON COMPLETING AN “8’S ON PYLONS” MANEUVER, THE PILOT FOUND HERSELF IN A CANYON THAT THE AIRCRAFT WAS INCAPABLE OF EXITING. THE PILOT LANDED THE AIRPLANE ON THE SIDE OF A MOUNTAIN IS A SMALL GROVE OF TREES. THE AIRCRAFT RECEIVED MAJOR DAMAGE. THE PILOT HAD MINOR INJURIES.

WHILE THE PILOT DID SHOW A LACK OF JUDGEMENT IN POOR PLANNING FOR THE EXECUTION AND COMPLETION OF THIS MANEUVER, SHE DID DEMONSTRATE GREAT COGNITIVE ABILITY AND TRAINING BY OPTING FOR A FORCED LANDING, RATHER THAN ATTEMPTING TO CLIMB OUT BEYOND THE LIMITS OF THE AIRCRAFT, STALLING THE AIRPLANE AND TURNING THIS INTO AN UN-SURVIVABLE EVENT. AFTER SPEAKING WITH THIS AIRMAN, WHO IS A RELATIVELY LOW TIME PILOT, I FEEL THIS HAS BEEN A LESSON LEARNED AND EXPERIENCE GAINED.

NO FURTHER ACTION REQUIRED.

## 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 WPR24LA094](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR24LA094), Feb 23, 2024: Aeronca 7AC (N1611E), Valley Springs, CA, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot’s decision to maneuver the airplane at a low altitude and inadvertently entering a box canyon where the airplane could not outclimb the rising terrain.

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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