- Date
- August 31, 1993, 21:00 local (Sep 1, 1993, 05:00 UTC)
- Place
- Delta River, AK
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N10987Bellanca 7GCBC
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 26, 1994
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Alaska Regional Office
- FAA report
- 19930831033629A
- Case key
- 2419
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 pilots failure to maintain directional control during takeoff.
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
The pilot said he was attempting to takeoff from an unprepared remote site approximately 600 feet long. Just after the airplane got airborne it started turning to the right and he was not able to correct sufficiently before hitting an embankment and coming to a stop in the bushes. He said the airplane was close to its maximum gross weight.
Factual narrative
On August 31, 1993, at 2100 Alaska daylight time, the pilot of a wheel equipped Bellanca 7GCBC airplane, N10987, lost control and crashed into the bushes while attempting to takeoff from a remote landing area on the Delta River, and approximately 20 miles south of Delta Junction, Alaska. The private pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured, and the airplane was substantially damaged. The personal flight was operating under 14 CFR Part 91 at the time. Visual meteorological conditions existed, and no flight plan was filed.
During a telephone interview on September 1, 1993, the pilot stated the following in part: "The purpose of the flight was to check out the area for future moose hunting. I landed at the area with no problem, then cut down some bushes and prepared about 600 feet for my takeoff. The airplane was pretty close to its maximum gross weight. I used two notches of flaps for the takeoff. Just after getting airborne, the airplane started turning to the right and I was not able to correct sufficiently before I hit an embankment and came to a stop in the bushes. The left main landing gear and the right wheel were torn off, both wings were damaged, and the tail and fuselage were bent."
Aircraft
- Registration
- N10987
- Reported as
- Bellanca 7GCBC
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 330-72
- Airframe hours
- 1,500
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Bernhard, John P.
- Registered owner
- Bernhard, John P.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 1, 1993 · 80 hours before
- Destination
- D66 · Delta Junction, AK
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
- 37
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 189 total · 78 in this make and model · 122 as pilot in command · 54 in the last 90 days · 14 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 330° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 8,000 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 50 °F
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 N10987 · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.