# NTSB CEN16LA250: Bellanca 7ECA, N87083, Oak Ridge, LA, July 4, 2016

- Type: NTSB accident investigation
- Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report
- Date: July 4, 2016, 14:00 local (19:00 UTC)
- Place: Oak Ridge, LA
- Coordinates: 32.638889, -91.773612 (estimated)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=32.6389&lon=-91.7736&mi=10
- Phase of flight: [Takeoff](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/300) (OpenAirDocs' grouping)
- Defining event: [Takeoff-rejected takeoff: Nose over/nose down](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/096)
- Highest injury: No injuries
- Injuries: 1 uninjured
- Status: Completed, report September 1, 2016
- Report: Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office: Central Region
- Parties: FAA
- NTSB case key (mKey): 93530
- NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=CEN16LA250
- NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/93530/pdf
- NTSB docket: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=93530
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN16LA250

## Probable cause

The pilot's failure to maintain airplane control during the aborted takeoff, which resulted in it becoming airborne momentarily and then over running the runway.

## Findings

NTSB's coded findings; those marked are part of the probable cause.

- [Use of equip/info: aircraft control](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040): Personnel issues › Task performance · Pilot (probable cause); cases with it: [Bellanca 7ECA, 12 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040/cases.md?model=1220460), [All aircraft, 9,295 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-findings/02063040/cases.md)

## Sequence of events

The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event best describes what happened.

- [Takeoff-rejected takeoff: Loss of control on ground](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/230); cases with it: [Bellanca 7ECA, 10 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/230/sequence.md?model=1220460), [All aircraft, 4,585 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/230/sequence.md)
- [Takeoff-rejected takeoff: Runway excursion](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/300); cases with it: [Bellanca 7ECA, 5 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/300/sequence.md?model=1220460), [All aircraft, 3,643 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/300/sequence.md)
- [Takeoff-rejected takeoff: Collision with terr/obj (non-CFIT) ](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470); cases with it: [Bellanca 7ECA, 10 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md?model=1220460), [All aircraft, 10,189 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/470/sequence.md)
- [Takeoff-rejected takeoff: Nose over/nose down](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/096) (defining event); cases with it: [Bellanca 7ECA, 7 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/096/sequence.md?model=1220460), [All aircraft, 2,287 cases](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/096/sequence.md)

## Analysis

The private pilot reported that, during the attempted takeoff from the turf airstrip, the airplane was not at the expected airspeed three-quarters of the way down the runway, and he decided to abort the takeoff. The airplane became airborne momentarily as the pilot applied brakes and aft control input. Once the airplane settled, he was unable to stop it before it overran the end of the runway, and the airplane then impacted two ditches, nosed over, and came to rest inverted. The pilot was departing with a left crosswind and during high density altitude conditions. It is likely that the density altitude coupled with the turf runway increased the distance required to attain the necessary speed for takeoff. Further, the slight balloon of the airplane as the pilot tried to stop it increased the required distance to stop the airplane, and insufficient runway was remaining to stop the airplane.

## Factual narrative

On July 4, 2016, about 1400 central daylight time, a Bellanca 7ECA airplane, N87083, was substantially damaged when it hit a ditch during an aborted takeoff and runway excursion at the Barham Airport (01LA), Oak Ridge, Louisiana. The private pilot was not injured. The airplane was owned by Flying Tigers Aviation and operated by a private individual under the provisions of 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) flight plan had been filed for the flight. The personal flight had departed Vicksburg Municipal Airport (VKS), Vicksburg, Mississippi, about 1330, and was en route to Morehouse Memorial Airport (BQP), Bastrop, Louisiana. During the cross-country flight, the pilot landed on the turf airstrip at 01LA. The pilot stated that the landing was fine and he repositioned the airplane to depart to the west (runway 27, 2,000 feet by 60 feet, turf). He wrote that he did not feel that the airplane was at the speed it should be when it was 3/4 of the way down the runway so he decided to abort the takeoff. When he applied the brakes and full aft elevator/control stick input, the airplane ballooned. Once it had settled back down, he was unable to stop the airplane before it overran the end of the runway. The airplane hit a ditch just beyond the end of the runway, bounced up, hit a second ditch, and nosed over, coming to rest inverted in the second ditch. The left wing separated from the airplane and the fuselage and empennage were substantially damaged. The pilot stated that there were no mechanical anomalies with the airplane at the time of the accident. The recorded aviation weather information for BQP, located 9 miles northwest of 01LA, taken at 1415, reported wind from 200 degrees at 8 knots, temperature 81 degrees Fahrenheit (F), dew point temperature 75 degrees F, and an altimeter setting of 29.98 inches. Calculations of relevant data indicated the density altitude was 1,512 feet.

## Aircraft

- Registration: [N87083](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N87083-2018-06-01), registration cancelled 2018-06-01, S/N 1035-74, built 1974 (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: BELLANCA 7ECA (NO SERIES)
- Registry model: [Bellanca 7ECA](https://openairdocs.org/model/bellanca-7eca) (registry code 1220460) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: [Lycoming 0-235 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-235-series) (registry code 41505, 4 cycle) (OpenAirDocs)
- Category: Airplane
- Serial number: 1035-74
- Year built: 1974
- Airframe hours: 2525
- Engines: Lycoming O-235 115 horsepower reciprocating
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Flight: Instructional, Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Aerobatic; Standard, Normal
- Last inspection: Annual, June 16, 2016
- Departed: Vicksburg, MS
- Destination: BQP, Bastrap, LA
- Airport: 01LA, Barham Airport, runway 9/27, 2,500 × 60 ft, grass/turf
- Equipment: None

## Flight crew

As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.

- Pilot; age 23; injuries: none; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land; medical: class 3, without waivers/limitations; last flight review May 19, 2016; seat: front; restraint: lap only; flight hours: 204.5 total, 78.1 in this make and model, 147.8 as pilot in command, 147.8 in the last 90 days, 115.9 in the last 30 days, 4.1 in the last 24 hours

## Weather

- Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day
- Wind: 200° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling: none
- Temperature: 81 °F, dew point 75 °F
- Altimeter: 29.97 inHg
- Observed at: KBQP, 9 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 (OpenAirDocs).

- [Accident 20160704013639A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20160704013639A), Jul 4, 2016: Bellanca 7ECA, Oakridge, LA, Substantial damage. Pilot landed on grass strip, approx. 2500 ft. pilot initiated a shortfield takeoff. When eng reached full RPM, pilot released breaks. Pilot then noticed a…

## Docket (2 files)

The files NTSB released with the investigation on July 27, 2016, on NTSB's docket system: https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=93530. 3.2 MB in all.

- Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 (item 1, .PDF, 3.1 MB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40442625&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Pilot%2FOperator%20Aircraft%20Accident%20Report,%20NTSB%20Form%206120.1-Master.PDF
- Record of Conversation - Pilot (item 2, .PDF, 53 KB): https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket/Document/docBLOB?ID=40442626&FileExtension=.PDF&FileName=Record%20of%20Conversation%20-%20Pilot-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.

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