- Date
- August 1, 1993, 12:00 local (20:00 UTC)
- Place
- Soldotna, AK
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N68578Bellanca 7GCBC
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report June 30, 1994
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- FAA report
- 19930801027399A
- Case key
- 2393
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to attain a proper touchdown point. A factor was the pilot's improper in flight planning/decision.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
Witnesses reported seeing the airplane touch down short of the runway and nose over.
Factual narrative
History of flight
On August 1, 1993, at 1200 Alaska daylight time, a wheel equipped Bellanca 7GCBC airplane, N68578, landed short of the approach end of the runway, then nosed over at Soldotna, Alaska. The private pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured. The airplane was substantially damaged. The personal local flight, operating under 14 CFR Part 91, had departed from the Soldotna Airport about 15 minutes prior to the accident. Visual meteorological conditions existed, and no flight plan was filed.
Shortly after the accident the pilot stated that one of the airplane's brakes locked up while performing a post maintenance high speed taxi. One witness, Mr. Richard Reed, stated that the airplane nosed over after it touched down short of the runway during landing. Several other persons reportedly witnessed the accident but would not identify themselves. Officer John Gregory from the Soldotna Police Department, stated that he found ground scars that indicated that the airplane touched down short of the runway.
Additional information
Following the accident FAA Inspector David S. McGlothlen, FSDO-03, Anchorage, Alaska, interviewed the pilot, Mr. Theodore A. Smith. At that time the pilot stated that the accident occurred while he was practicing short field landings. On NTSB Form 6120.1/2 (Accident Report), the pilot reported that he was practicing aborted takeoffs on short fields, and applied the brakes too "aggressively".
Aircraft
- Registration
- N68578
- Reported as
- Bellanca 7GCBC
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 412-72
- Airframe hours
- 1,200
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Smith, Theodore A.
- Registered owner
- Smith, Theodore A.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Aerobatic
- Last inspection
- Annual · January 2, 2000 · 200 hours before
- Departed
- SXQ
- Destination
- SXQ
- Airport
- SXQ · Soldotna, runway 25, 4,973 × 130 ft, asphalt
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
- 44
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Expired
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 1,400 total · 150 in this make and model · 1,400 as pilot in command
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 230° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 5,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 64 °F, dew point 52 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- SXQ, 1 nm away
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 N68578 · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.