- Date
- January 29, 2022, 13:00 local (19:00 UTC)
- Place
- Cook, MN
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N2923EAeronca 7AC
- Defining event
- Takeoff: Miscellaneous/other
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Investigation class
- Class 4 - Basic report with no Prelim publish
- NTSB office
- Central Region
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20220129001069A
- Case key
- 104594
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 ensure the snow-covered takeoff area was safe, which resulted in a collision with ice and subsequent landing gear damage.
Findings · 3
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 reported that he taxied the ski-equipped airplane to a snow-covered area adjacent to the runway. He made two passes over 8 inches of fresh snow to create a makeshift runway. He then added engine power and started to take off toward the west. At rotation speed he heard and felt a “whack” along with a “bump,” and deceleration. The airplane felt “mushy” as it became airborne, and the pilot leveled the nose to maintain control. The pilot observed the right ski hanging straight down; with the airplane approaching trees, he pushed the nose down and landed in the remaining open area. The airplane slid about 20 ft before it came to rest; its lower fuselage structure sustained substantial damage. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical failures or malfunctions that would have precluded normal operations. After the accident occurred, the pilot noted that the fresh snow obscured various ice chunks and frozen drifts.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N2923E
- Reported as
- Aeronca 7AC (Champion)
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 7AC-6506
- Built
- 1946
- Engine
- Continental Motors A&C 65 SERIES, 65 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- CQM · Cook, MN
- Airport
- CQM · Cook Municipal Airport, runway 31, 4,000 × 75 ft, snow
- Equipment
- Unknown
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
- 34
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- June 30, 2021
- Seat
- Front
- Restraint
- Lap only
- Flight hours
- 1 total · 1 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 210° at 5 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 19 °F, dew point 10 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.75 inHg
- Observed at
- CQM
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on June 22, 2022, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 1.2 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.