# NTSB CEN12CA430: Bellanca 7KCAB, N8709V, Williston, ND, July 9, 2012 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Data collection · Final report - Date: July 9, 2012, 15:30 local (20:30 UTC) - Place: Williston, ND - Coordinates: 48.039165, -102.339721 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=48.0392&lon=-102.3397&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Defining event: [Landing-landing roll: Dragged wing/rotor/float/other](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/093) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report October 9, 2012 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Central Region - NTSB case key (mKey): 84273 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=CEN12CA430 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/84273/pdf - NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=84273 - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN12CA430 ## Probable cause The pilot's failure to ensure a suitable landing surface. ## Findings NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause. - [Action: incorrect action selection](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041010): Personnel issues › Action/decision · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Bellanca 7KCAB, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041010/cases.md?model=1220701), [All aircraft, 397 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02041010/cases.md) - [Terrain](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03021000): Environmental issues › Physical environment · Decision related to condition (probable cause); cases with it: [Bellanca 7KCAB, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03021000/cases.md?model=1220701), [All aircraft, 267 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/03021000/cases.md) ## Sequence of events The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened. - [Landing-landing roll: Dragged wing/rotor/float/other](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/093) (defining event); cases with it: [Bellanca 7KCAB, 1 case](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/093/sequence.md?model=1220701), [All aircraft, 319 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/093/sequence.md) - [Landing-landing roll: Nose over/nose down](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/096); cases with it: [Bellanca 7KCAB, 7 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/096/sequence.md?model=1220701), [All aircraft, 2,287 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/096/sequence.md) ## Analysis The pilot reported that he was performing a landing in a wheat field. When the pilot began to flare the airplane, the main landing gear became entangled with the tall wheat grass, which resulted in the airplane lurching forward and to the right. The right wing impacted the ground, and the airplane nosed over. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right wing, the vertical stabilizer, and the rudder. Nine days before the accident, the pilot had marked a 1,000-foot-long landing strip in the field. He stated that the wheat grass had grown considerably since then. ## Factual narrative In a statement provided by the pilot, he was performing a landing in a wheat field. The pilot approached the field from the west and flew a midfield downwind at 3,000 feet mean sea level (MSL) over the intended landing strip. When the pilot began to flare the airplane, the main landing gear became entangled with the tall wheat grass, which resulted in the airplane lurching forward and to the right. The right wing impacted the ground and the airplane nosed over. The airplane came to rest inverted and pointed in the opposite direction of flight. Nine days prior to the accident, the pilot had marked a 1,000 foot landing strip in the field. He stated that the wheat grass had grown considerably since then. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N8709V](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N8709V), registered now, S/N 518-75, built 1975 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: BELLANCA 7KCAB - Registry model: [Bellanca 7KCAB](https://openairdocs.org/model/bellanca-7kcab) (registry code 1220701) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming IO-320 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-io-320-series) (registry code 41509, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 518-75 - Airframe hours: 1976 - Engines: LYCOMING IO-320 SERIES 150 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Business, Part 91 - Operator: Kempner James C - Registered owner: Kempner James C - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Last inspection: Annual, November 1, 2011, 43 hours before - Departed: ISN, Williston, ND - Destination: Williston, ND - Airport: runway 24, grass/turf ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 41; injuries: none; commercial; airplane ratings: single-engine sea, single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 3; last flight review September 16, 2010; seat: front; flight hours: 1,100 total, 210 in this make and model, 1,073 as pilot in command, 36 in the last 90 days, 17 in the last 30 days, 1 in the last 24 hours ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 240° at 5 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 93 °F, dew point 52 °F - Altimeter: 30.09 inHg - Observed at: ISN, 50 nm away ## Docket (3 files) The files NTSB released with the investigation on August 9, 2012, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=84273. 698 KB in all. - Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 (item 1, .PDF, 611 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40374431&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Pilot%2FOperator%20Aircraft%20Accident%20Report,%20NTSB%20Form%206120.1-Redacted.PDF - Photograph: Airplane inverted left side (item 2, .PDF, 39 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40374432&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Photograph%3A%20Airplane%20inverted%20left%20side-Master.PDF - Photograph: Airplane inverted and landing gear (item 3, .PDF, 47 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40374433&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Photograph%3A%20Airplane%20inverted%20and%20landing%20gear-Master.PDF From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.