# NTSB ANC15CA031: Aeronca 7EC, N84116, Palmer, AK, May 27, 2015 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Data collection · Final report - Date: May 27, 2015, 02:00 local (10:00 UTC) - Place: Palmer, AK - Coordinates: 61.599445, -149.087493 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=61.5994&lon=-149.0875&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Landing: Hard landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/092) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 2 uninjured - Status: Completed, report August 11, 2015 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Alaska Regional Office - NTSB case key (mKey): 91251 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ANC15CA031 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/91251/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=91251 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC15CA031 ## Probable cause The instructor's delayed remedial actions, and the student pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed, which resulted in a stall just above the ground and the subsequent hard landing. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Use of equip/info: aircraft control](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040): Personnel issues › Task performance · Student/instructed pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Aeronca 7EC, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040/cases.md?model=2110120), [All aircraft, 9,295 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Landing: Hard landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/092) (defining event); cases with it: [Aeronca 7EC, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/092/sequence.md?model=2110120), [All aircraft, 2,102 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/092/sequence.md) ## Analysis The student pilot and his instructor were landing in a tailwheel-equipped airplane at night. The student pilot did two full stop landings on the night cross-country flight. During the first landing, the airplane stalled just above the runway, and the front left landing gear made contact with the runway first, resulting in a hard landing. The second landing was a normal, soft touchdown landing. A postflight inspection revealed that a portion of airplane's fuselage, on the left side, sustained substantial damage from the hard landing. The instructor pilot stated that there were no preaccident mechanical anomalies with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. ## Factual narrative The student pilot and his instructor were landing in a tailwheel-equipped airplane at night. The student pilot did two full stop landings on the night cross-country flight. During the first landing, the airplane stalled just above the runway, and the front left landing gear made contact with the runway first, resulting in a hard landing. The second landing was a normal, soft touchdown landing. A postflight inspection revealed that a portion of airplane's fuselage, on the left side, sustained substantial damage from the hard landing. The instructor pilot stated that there were no preaccident mechanical anomalies with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N84116](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N84116), registered now, S/N 7AC-2804, built 1946 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: AERONCA 7EC (NO SERIES) - Registry model: [Aeronca 7EC](https://openairdocs.org/model/aeronca-7ec) (registry code 2110120) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Continental C90-12F](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-c90-12f) (registry code 17183, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 7AC-2804 - Year built: 1946 - Airframe hours: 4581.2 - Engines: Continental C90-F12 90 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Instructional, Part 91 - Operator: Above Alaska Aviation - Registered owner: Aspenglow LLC - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, May 11, 2015 - Departed: PATK, Talkeenta, AK - Destination: PAAQ, Palmer, AK - Flight plan: VFR - Airport: PAAQ, Palmer Airport, runway 16, 6,000 × 100 ft, asphalt ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 32; injuries: none; commercial, private, flight instructor, airline transport; airplane ratings: single-engine land, multi-engine land, single-engine sea; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 1, with waivers/limitations; last flight review November 30, 2014; seat: rear; restraint: 3-point; flight hours: 4,500 total, 200 in this make and model, 4,400 as pilot in command, 30 in the last 90 days, 20 in the last 30 days, 2 in the last 24 hours - Pilot; age 19; injuries: none; student; medical: class 3, without waivers/limitations; seat: front; restraint: 3-point; flight hours: 50 total, 42 in this make and model, 10 as pilot in command, 5 in the last 90 days, 5 in the last 30 days, 1 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Night - Wind: calm - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: 5,000 ft overcast - Temperature: 50 °F, dew point 37 °F - Altimeter: 30.28 inHg - Observed at: PAAQ ## Docket (1 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on July 28, 2015, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=91251. 2.0 MB in all. - Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 (item 1, .PDF, 2.0 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40429889&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Pilot%2FOperator%20Aircraft%20Accident%20Report,%20NTSB%20Form%206120.1-Master.PDF 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.