- Date
- May 29, 1986, 20:10 local (May 30, 1986, 01:10 UTC)
- Place
- E. Grand Forks, MN
- Injuries
- 3 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N5026HBellanca 7GCBC
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 25, 1988
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19860529026309A
- Case key
- 13258
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
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
Witnesses rprtd the acft had just left the restricted lndg area (rla) when it entered a climbing maneuver, then dscndd &impacted the gnd & burned. Two witnesses said it went straight up, then straight down, before it crashed. Another 2 wit-nesses noted a pwr interruption; however, a post acdnt teardown of the eng revealed no preimpact mechanical problem thatwould have caused a loss of pwr. There was little or no fwd movement of the acft after impact. The left wing was canted fwd & there was evidence the acft had yawed left (tail rgt) after impact. Five open beer cans were fnd in the wreckage. Blood & urine samples of the plt tested positive for alcohol (0.135% & 0.134%, respective). Tests of the passengers' blood showed alcohol levels of 0.074% & 0.085%. Auto fuel was found in the acft, altho the plane had no STC for this type of fuel. Neither of the rear seat passengers were belted in.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N5026H
- Reported as
- Bellanca 7GCBC
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 1059-78
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-A2D, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Eugene C. Thompson
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · August 2, 1985
- Airport
- Jensens, runway 18, 1,350 × ft, asphalt
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
- 26
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Front
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 1,600 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 200° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 12 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 81 °F, dew point 55 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- GFK, 7 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.