# NTSB ANC02LA120: Bellanca 7ECA, N9994Y, Gakona, AK, August 24, 2002 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: August 24, 2002, 13:45 local (21:45 UTC) - Place: Gakona, AK - Coordinates: 62.56361, -144.668884 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=62.5636&lon=-144.6689&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report April 18, 2003 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Alaska Regional Office - Parties: FAA-AL-ANC FSDO 03 - NTSB case key (mKey): 55706 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ANC02LA120 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/55706/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC02LA120 ## Probable cause The pilot's failure to maintain directional control of the airplane, and his excessive use of the airplane's brakes during the landing roll, which resulted in the airplane nosing down. A contributing factor in the accident was wet, high grass along the runway edge. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Loss of control - on ground/water, landing - roll - terrain condition - high vegetation (contributing factor) - directional control - not maintained, pilot in command (cause) - terrain condition - wet (contributing factor) - brakes(normal) - excessive, pilot in command (cause) - Nose down, landing - roll ## Analysis The private certificated pilot was landing the tailwheel-equipped airplane at a remote airport. During the landing roll, the pilot said the airplane hit a bump on the surface of the runway, which threw the airplane upward and to the right. The airplane's right main landing gear tire then entered an area of tall, wet grass along the right edge of the runway, pulling the airplane further to the right. The pilot said he applied the brakes, and the airplane nosed down along the right side of the runway. The airplane received damage to the propeller and the left wingtip. A postaccident inspection of the airplane by an FAA inspector revealed the left wing received damage to at least two wing ribs. ## Factual narrative On August 24, 2002, about 1345 Alaska daylight time, a wheel-equipped Bellanca 7ECA airplane, N9994Y, sustained substantial damage when the airplane nosed down during landing at the Chistochina Airport, about 23 miles north-northeast of Gakona, Alaska. The airplane was being operated as a Title 14, CFR Part 91 visual flight rules (VFR) cross-country personal flight when the accident occurred. The airplane was operated by the pilot. The private certificated pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The flight originated at the Gulkana Airport, Glennallen, Alaska, about 1245. On September 4, 2002, a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) airworthiness inspector, Anchorage Flight Standards District Office (FSDO), notified the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC), that the pilot called her office on August 29, to report damage to the airplane. During a telephone conversation with the NTSB IIC on September 4, the pilot reported that during the landing roll at the Chistochina Airport, the airplane encountered a bump on the surface of the runway which threw the airplane upward and to the right. The airplane's right main landing gear tire then entered an area of tall, wet grass along the right edge of the runway, pulling the airplane further to the right. The pilot said he applied the brakes, and the airplane nosed down along the right side of the runway. The airplane received damage to the propeller and the left wingtip. On September 16, the FAA inspector reported that she examined the airplane at the Chistochina Airport on September 9. She indicated the left wing received damage to at least two wing ribs. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N9994Y](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N9994Y), registered now, S/N 8, built 1964 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Bellanca 7ECA - Registry model: [Champion 7ECA](https://openairdocs.org/model/champion-7eca) (registry code 21101NN) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Continental 0-200 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-0-200-series) (registry code 17020, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 8 - Airframe hours: 1965 - Engines: CONTINENTAL O-200 100 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Registered owner: Warren A. Mitchell - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, November 16, 2001, 10 hours before - Departed: PAGK, GULKANA, AK - Destination: CZO, GAKONA, AK - Airport: CZO, Chistochina, runway 19, 2,060 × 90 ft, gravel ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 37; injuries: none; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land; medical: class 3, valid medical--no waivers/lim.; last flight review August 19, 2002; seat: front; flight hours: 65 total, 7 in this make and model, 13 as pilot in command, 21 in the last 90 days, 7 in the last 30 days ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: variable at 8 knots - Visibility: 15 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 70 °F ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20020824024679A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20020824024679A), Aug 24, 2002: Bbavia 7ECA, Chistochina, AK, Substantial damage. (-23) During the landing roll on the gravel Chistochina Airport, the aircraft encountered a bump on the runway surface. The aircraft's right main landing gear… 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. --- 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.