ANC21LA046

NTSB accident investigation · Bellanca 8GCBC · Nenana, AK · June 13, 2021

Accident · No injuriesClass 4 · LimitedFinal report
Date
June 13, 2021, 08:30 local (16:30 UTC)
Place
Nenana, AK · Remote Grass Airstrip
Injuries
1 uninjured
Damage
Substantial damage
Phase of flight
Landing
Aircraft
N178TTBellanca 8GCBC
Defining event
Landing-landing roll: Collision with terr/obj (non-CFIT)
Weather
Visual (VMC) · Day
Status
Completed
Report
Approved by Office Director
Investigation class
Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
NTSB office
Alaska Regional Office
Parties
FAA/FSDO
FAA report
20210613007469A
Case key
103283

From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.

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Probable cause

The pilot’s failure to maintain adequate clearance with trees during landing.

Findings · 2

NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.

Object/animal/substance: tree(s)Environmental issues › Physical environment · Awareness of conditionBellanca 8GCBC: 2 casesAll aircraft: 933 casesProbable cause

Sequence of events

The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.

Analysis

After takeoff the private pilot flew to several different airstrips where he performed several full-stop landings. He then elected to fly to the “Lynx Strip” and flew across the runway and did not notice any “significant [wind]” at low altitude or on the water of a nearby pond. He performed two passes over the runway from different directions and again noted the wind was “negligible.” He performed two landings to the north then a full stop landing to the south. He departed and performed a “left traffic teardrop” for a final landing to the north. Either at touchdown or just moments before he felt drag on the right wing and realized the right wingtip was, “in the small Black Spruce [trees] to the right of the runway.” He applied left rudder and some aileron input to correct back to center, but the drag on the right wing increased. The airplane made an arc to the right and contact black spruce trees off the right side of the runway coming to rest upright perpendicular to the runway facing east. According to the airplane manufacturer, the total wingspan of the airplane was about 36 ft. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed damage to the leading edges of both wings which was greater than 10% of the total wingspan; therefore, the damage was considered substantial.

Aircraft

Registration
N178TT
Reported as
Bellanca 8GCBC (NO SERIES)
Category
Airplane
Serial number
278-78
Built
1978
Airframe hours
2,209.8
Engine
Lycoming O-360-C2E, 180 horsepower, reciprocating
Damage
Substantial damage
Flight
Personal · Part 91
Registered owner
Lockwood Kurt G
Airworthiness certificate
Standard, Normal
Last inspection
Annual · June 24, 2021
Airport
None · Lynx Strip, runway 36, 660 × 50 ft, grass/turf
Equipment
Stall warning system, Handheld GPS

Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

Flight crew

As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.

Role
Pilot
Age
51
Injuries
None
Certificate
Private
Airplane ratings
Single-engine sea, Single-engine land
Medical
BasicMed, Without waivers/limitations
Last flight review
July 2, 2020
Seat
Front
Restraint
5-point
Flight hours
347 total · 73 in this make and model · 275 as pilot in command · 13 in the last 90 days · 3 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours

Weather

Conditions
Visual (VMC) · Day
Wind
Calm
Visibility
10 statute miles
Lowest ceiling
8,500 ft overcast
Temperature
57 °F, dew point 46 °F
Altimeter
29.84 inHg
Observed at
PANN, 18 nm away
METAR
PANN 131653Z AUTO 00000KT 10SM OVC085 14/08 A2984 RMK AO2 SLP109 T01440083 TSNO

FAA reports on this event · 1

The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.