ANC25LA084

NTSB accident investigation · Aeronca 7AC · Willow, AK · August 6, 2025

Accident · Serious injuriesClass 3 · LimitedPreliminary report
Date
August 5, 2025, 16:00 local (Aug 6, 2025, 00:00 UTC)
Place
Willow, AK
Injuries
1 serious
Damage
Substantial damage
Phase of flight
Takeoff
Aircraft
N84726Aeronca 7AC
Defining event
Takeoff: Aerodynamic stall/spin
Weather
Visual (VMC) · Day
Status
Investigation ongoing
Investigation class
Class 3
NTSB office
Alaska Regional Office
Parties
FAA
FAA report
20250805015169A
Case key
200722

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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Preliminary report

What NTSB knew early in the investigation. It may change in the final report.

On August 5, 2025, about 1600 Alaska daylight time, an Aeronca 7AC airplane, N84726, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident at the Willow Airport (UUO) in Willow, Alaska. The student pilot sustained serious injuries. The airplane was operated under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations as a Part 91 personal flight. The airplane was initially discovered by the pilot of an airplane who was flying over the Willow Airport. That pilot then landed to assist the seriously injured student pilot, and alert first responders of the accident location. The accident airplane was situated nosed down, in a near vertical attitude on a northwest heading about 75 feet east of the centerline on runway 13, and about 1,000 feet down the runway (see figure 1). The wings remained partially attached and the tail was bent slightly to the left. Control cable continuity from the ailerons, flaps and rudder were intact to the fuselage, and fuel was observed in the nose tank and fuel lines. The wreckage has been recovered, and an initial postaccident examination of the airframe and engine revealed no evidence of any preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. Additional post-accident wreckage examinations are pending. Figure 1 Accident airplane

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.

Aircraft

Registration
N84726
Reported as
Aeronca 7AC
Category
Airplane
Serial number
7AC-3432
Built
1946
Airframe hours
3,712
Damage
Substantial damage
Flight
Personal · Part 91
Airworthiness certificate
Standard, Normal
Last inspection
Annual · February 25, 2025
Destination
Same as departure
Flight plan
VFR
Airport
UUO · Willow Airport, runway 13, 4,400 × 75 ft, gravel
Equipment
None

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.

Weather

Conditions
Visual (VMC) · Day
Visibility
10 statute miles
Lowest ceiling
None
Temperature
68 °F, dew point 54 °F
Altimeter
29.98 inHg
Observed at
PAWS, 18 nm away
METAR
PAWS 060056Z AUTO VRB05KT 10SM CLR 20/12 A2998 RMK AO2 SLPNO T02000117

FAA reports on this event · 1

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

Other investigations on N84726 · 1

Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.