- Date
- November 5, 2001, 15:00 local (21:00 UTC)
- Place
- Hawley, MN
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N256JBellanca 7GCBC
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 30, 2003
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 20011105037119A
- Case key
- 57370
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 failure of the pilot to maintain directional control. A factor was the trees.
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 aircraft struck trees during an aborted landing. The pilot lost directional control and then became airborne again. The pilot stated "When I again touched down I was approx 30 angle to the runway, heading 310 looking directly at runway marker. I pushed throttle to full power (too fast) which caused the engine to spit and sputter. I was able to lift up enough to miss runway marker but was not gaining any more altitude. The terrain below was going down because of side hill, then came the trees which are on the neighbors property north of strip, I didn't think I could bank to the left hard enough to miss the trees without having left wing touch the ground. So instead I banked some to the left to avoid direct fuselage hit to tree limbs. My right wing hit the tree, then I fell approx 30-40 feet straight into a small pond/swamp".
Factual narrative
On November 5, 2001, at 1500 central standard time, a Bellanca 7GCBC, N256J, piloted by a private pilot, was substantially damaged during an aborted landing near Hawley, Minnesota. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The personal flight was operating under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91 and not on a flight plan. The pilot, the sole occupant of the airplane, received minor injuries. The flight departed Detroit Lakes, Minnesota about 15 minutes before the accident.
The pilot stated "When I again touched down I was approx 30 angle to the runway, heading 310 looking directly at runway marker. I pushed throttle to full power (to fast) which caused the engine to spit and sputter. I was able to lift up enough to miss runway marker but was not gaining any more altitude. The terrain below was going down because of side hill, then came the trees which are on the neighbors prosperity north of strip, I didn't think I could bank to the left hard enough to miss the trees without having left wing touch the ground. So instead I banked some to the left to avoid direct fuselage hit to tree limbs. My right wing hit the tree, then I fell approx 30-40 feet straight into a small pond/swamp".
Aircraft
- Registration
- N256J
- Reported as
- Bellanca 7GCBC
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 1212-80
- Airframe hours
- 1,265
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Same As Pilot
- Registered owner
- Paul W. White, Jr.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · February 21, 2001 · 38 hours before
- Departed
- DTL · Detroit Lakes, MN
- Destination
- Hawley, MN
- Airport
- MY99 · Private, runway 28, 3,200 × 75 ft, grass/turf
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
- 53
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificate
- Student
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Last flight review
- October 29, 2001
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 350 total · 84 in this make and model · 350 as pilot in command · 10 in the last 90 days · 6 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.