- Date
- August 14, 2010, 11:00 local (16:00 UTC)
- Place
- Justin, TX
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N85065Aeronca 7CCM
- Defining event
- Landing-landing roll: Ground collision
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 20, 2010
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- FAA Flight Standards District Office
- FAA report
- 20100814043729A
- Case key
- 76959
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
A loss of engine power due to fuel starvation as a result of the pilot's delay in transferring fuel from the gravity feed wing tanks to the main tank.
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.
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
The pilot made a full-stop landing, taxied back, and took off. During the climb out, the engine "sputtered" and lost power. The pilot made a forced landing on a grass field. During the landing, the right main landing gear fractured aft and collapsed, and the right wing and lift strut were bent. When asked how this accident could have been prevented, the pilot said he should have transferred fuel from the gravity feed wing tanks to the main tank sooner. An examination of the airplane's engine and other systems revealed no anomalies.
Factual narrative
On August 14, 2010, approximately 1045 central daylight time, an Aeronca 7CCM, N85065, registered to and operated by the pilot, was substantially damaged when it impacted terrain during a forced landing following a loss of engine power near Justin, Texas. Visual meteorological conditions (VMC) prevailed at the time of the accident. The personal flight was being conducted under the provisions of Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91 without a flight plan. The pilot and passenger on board the airplane were not injured. The local flight originated from Roanoke, Texas, at 1030, and was returning to that airport when the accident occurred. According to the FAA inspector who went to the scene, the pilot said he had flown over to Prop Wash Airstrip (16X), Justin, where he made a full-stop landing. He taxied back and took off. During climb out, the engine "sputtered" and lost power. The pilot made a forced landing on a grass field near the airstrip. During the landing, the right main collapsed and the right wing and lift strut were bent. The pilot said in his written statement that accident could have been prevented if he had "Start[ed] fuel transfer from gravity feed wing tanks to [the] main tank earlier." An examination of the airplane showed substantial damage to the right main landing gear, right lower fuselage, right outboard wing and lift strut, and fracture damage to the propeller. Flight control continuity was confirmed. An examination of the engine and other airplane systems revealed no anomalies.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N85065
- Reported as
- Aeronca 7CCM
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 7AC-3792
- Airframe hours
- 1,745
- Engine
- Continental A75-8, 75 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Richard P. Zipperer
- Registered owner
- Richard P. Zipperer
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 7, 2010 · 20 hours before
- Departed
- 52F · Justin, TX
- Destination
- 52F · Roanoke, TX
- Airport
- 16X · Prop Wash, runway 17, 3,000 × 45 ft, concrete
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
- 78
- Injuries
- None
- Certificates
- Flight instructor, Commercial, Flight engineer, Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- October 24, 2009
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 6,115 total · 2,000 in this make and model · 6,050 as pilot in command · 11 in the last 90 days · 4 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Variable at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 95 °F, dew point 72 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.89 inHg
- Observed at
- AFW, 7 nm away
Docket · 6
The files NTSB released with the investigation on September 16, 2010, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 5.6 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.