# NTSB ANC08LA058: Bellanca 7GCBC, N10987, Tetlin, AK, April 26, 2008 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: April 26, 2008, 10:30 local (18:30 UTC) - Place: Tetlin, AK - Coordinates: 63.125, -142.518325 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=63.1250&lon=-142.5183&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Landing-flare/touchdown: Loss of control on ground](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/230) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 2 uninjured - Status: Completed, report March 5, 2009 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Alaska Regional Office - Parties: Federal Aviation Administration (Operations), Federal Aviation Administration (Airworthiness) - NTSB case key (mKey): 67904 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ANC08LA058 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/67904/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC08LA058 ## Probable cause The instructor pilot's inadequate supervision of the student, resulting in a loss of control while landing. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Performance/control parameters: directional control](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062020): Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability · Not attained/maintained (probable cause); cases with it: [Bellanca 7GCBC, 19 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062020/cases.md?model=1220601), [All aircraft, 3,958 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/01062020/cases.md) - [Attention/monitoring: monitoring other person](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02021535): Personnel issues › Psychological · Instructor/check pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Bellanca 7GCBC, 2 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02021535/cases.md?model=1220601), [All aircraft, 200 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02021535/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Landing-flare/touchdown: Abnormal runway contact](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/090); cases with it: [Bellanca 7GCBC, 3 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/090/sequence.md?model=1220601), [All aircraft, 1,506 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/090/sequence.md) - [Landing-flare/touchdown: Loss of control on ground](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/230) (defining event); cases with it: [Bellanca 7GCBC, 26 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/230/sequence.md?model=1220601), [All aircraft, 4,585 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/230/sequence.md) - [Landing-flare/touchdown: Runway excursion](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/300); cases with it: [Bellanca 7GCBC, 9 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/300/sequence.md?model=1220601), [All aircraft, 3,643 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/300/sequence.md) ## Analysis The certificated flight instructor (CFI) was providing flight instruction to a student pilot in a tailwheel-equipped airplane. The CFI said that during touchdown on the gravel runway, the student pilot bounced the airplane, and as the main wheels touched down again the airplane veered to the left. The CFI said that he took control of the airplane in an attempt to realign it, but it continued to veer to the left and he applied full engine power to abort the landing. The airplane became airborne momentarily, but descended into an area on the left side of the runway and collided with terrain. According to a Federal Aviation Administration airworthiness inspector, no preaccident mechanical anomalies were revealed during his postaccident inspection. ## Factual narrative On April 26, 2008, about 1030 Alaska daylight time, a Bellanca 7GCBC airplane, N10987, sustained substantial damage during an aborted landing at the Tetlin Airport, Tetlin, Alaska. The airplane was being operated as a visual flight rules (VFR) local area instructional flight under Title 14, CFR Part 91, when the accident occurred. The first pilot, seated in the rear seat, a certificated flight instructor (CFI), and the second pilot, seated in the front seat, a student pilot, were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident, and no flight plan was filed. The flight originated at the Tok Airport, Tok, Alaska, about 0900. During a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board investigator-in-charge on April 26, the CFI reported that he was providing primary flight instruction to a student in a tailwheel-equipped airplane. He said that before the accident landing, the student had completed a series of touch-and-go landings on runway 26, a gravel runway. During the accident landing the student allowed the airplane to bounce slightly, and as the main wheels touched down again, the airplane veered to the left. The CFI said that he took control of the airplane in an attempt to realign it, but it continued to veer to the left, and he applied full engine power in an attempt to abort the landing. The airplane became airborne momentarily, but descended into an area on the left side of the runway, and collided with an area of rough and uneven terrain. The airplane came to rest upright, and sustained structural damage to the wings, wing lift struts, fuselage, and empennage. The CFI noted that winds were calm at the time of the accident. A Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) airworthiness inspector from the Fairbanks Flight Standards District Office inspected the airplane after it was recovered, and reported that no preaccident mechanical anomalies were revealed. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N10987](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N10987), registered now, S/N 330-72, built 1972 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: BELLANCA 7GCBC - Registry model: [Bellanca 7GCBC](https://openairdocs.org/model/bellanca-7gcbc) (registry code 1220601) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming 0-320 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-320-series) (registry code 41508, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 330-72 - Airframe hours: 1552 - Engines: LYCOMING O-320 SERIES 160 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Instructional, Part 91 - Operator: Duwayne W. Young - Registered owner: Andreassen Ray E - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, September 22, 2007 - Departed: 6K8, Tok, AK - Destination: 3T3, Tetlin, AK - Airport: 3T4, Tetlin Airport, runway 26, 3,300 × 75 ft, gravel ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Flight instructor; age 50; injuries: none; commercial; airplane ratings: single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 2, without waivers/limitations; last flight review April 21, 2008; seat: rear; flight hours: 1,250 total, 22 in this make and model, 1,250 as pilot in command, 41 in the last 90 days, 15 in the last 30 days, 1 in the last 24 hours - Student pilot; age 63; injuries: none; student; medical: class 3, with waivers/limitations; seat: front; flight hours: 72 total, 18 in this make and model, 5 as pilot in command, 7 in the last 90 days, 7 in the last 30 days, 1 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: calm - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: 14,000 ft broken - Temperature: 34 °F, dew point 25 °F - Altimeter: 29.72 inHg - Observed at: PAOR ## 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 20080426833909A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20080426833909A), Apr 26, 2008: Bbavia 7GCBC, Tetlin, AK, Substantial damage. (-23)04/26/2008, CFI [privacy data omitted] was instructing student pilot [privacy data omitted], practicing takeoffs and landings at Tetlin, AK. On the 7th or… ## Other investigations on N10987 (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 ANC93LA164](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC93LA164), Sep 1, 1993: Bellanca 7GCBC (N10987), Delta River, AK, substantial damage. Probable cause: THE PILOTS FAILURE TO MAINTAIN DIRECTIONAL CONTROL DURING TAKEOFF. 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.