- Date
- August 8, 1999, 13:05 local (18:05 UTC)
- Place
- Titonka, IA
- Injuries
- 1 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N5033GBellanca 7GCAA
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report May 17, 2001
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19990808010969A
- Case key
- 47084
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 low altitude maneuver attempted and altitude/clearance not being maintained by the pilot, which resulted in an impact with a pine tree. A factor to the accident was the pine tree.
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 pilot attempted a low-level pass over a relative's residence and impacted a pine tree that was located in the front yard. The right elevator, right stabilizer, right wing struts, and right wing separated from the fuselage during and subsequent to the collision with the pine tree. No anomalies were found with the airplane or its engine.
Factual narrative
History of flight
On August 8, 1999, at 1305 central daylight time, a Bellanca 7GCAA, N5033G, piloted by a private pilot, was destroyed during an in-flight collision with a pine tree and terrain near Titonka, Iowa. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The personal flight was operating under the provisions of 14 CFR Part 91 and was not on a flight plan. The pilot, the sole occupant, was fatally injured. The flight departed the Algona Municipal Airport, Algona, Iowa, at exact time unknown and was en route to the Owatonna Municipal Airport, Owatonna, Minnesota.
Relatives of the pilot, and witnesses to the accident, described the airplane approaching their residence from the east, at an altitude lower than a set of transmission wires that were along a road near their property. The witnesses stated that as the airplane passed over their house they heard the airplane impact the top of an evergreen tree in their front yard. The airplane impacted a level cornfield approximately 100 yards west of the residence.
Personnel information
According to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) records, the pilot was a holder of a private pilot certificate with a single engine land rating. FAA records indicated that the pilot was issued a third class medical certificate with no limitations or restrictions on July 3, 1998. At his last FAA medical examination, the pilot reported his total flight time was 150 hours.
Aircraft information
The aircraft was a Bellanca 7GCAA, N5033G, serial number 368-78. The Bellanca 7GCAA is a production built, dual strutted high-wing airplane consisting of a fabric covered steel-tube fuselage and a fabric covered wing. The Bellanca 7GCAA has a fixed landing gear and can accommodate a pilot and a single passenger. The FAA issued a Standard Airworthiness Certificate for the airplane on October 25, 1978. The airplane had logged a total time of 3417.6 hours at the last annual inspection dated November 9, 1998. The airplane had logged a total time of 3475.4 hours at the time of the accident.
The engine was a Lycoming O-320-A2D, serial number L-48428-27A, and at the time of the accident had accumulated 1,455 hours since overhaul.
Wreckage and impact information
Examination of the residence property revealed severed pine tree branches near a base of a pine tree located in the front yard.
Post examination of the wreckage revealed the right horizontal stabilizer, right portion of the elevator, right wing-struts, and right wing separated from the airplane during and subsequent to the impact with the tree. The right portion of the elevator and one of the right wing struts were found in the side yards of the residence. The right wing, right horizontal stabilizer, and the remaining right wing-strut were found in a cornfield west of the residence. Examination of the main wreckage revealed severed pine tree branches and needles underneath the engine cowling and in the forward cockpit area.
No anomalies were found with the airplane or its systems that could be associated with a preexisting condition.
No anomalies were found with the engine or its systems that could be associated with a preexisting condition.
Medical and pathological information
An autopsy of the pilot was conducted on August 9, 1999 at the Mercy Medical Center, Mason City, Iowa.
Federal Aviation Administration Forensic Toxicology Fatal Accident Report indicated that the pilot tested positive for Acetaminophen, with a level of 65 ug/ml, ug/g detected.
Additional information
A party to the investigation was the Federal Aviation Administration Flight Standards District Office, Des Moines, Iowa.
The wreckage was released to the Kossuth County Sheriff on August 9, 1999.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N5033G
- Reported as
- Bellanca 7GCAA
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 368-78
- Airframe hours
- 3,475
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-A2D, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Albert Lea Airport Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · November 9, 1998 · 58 hours before
- Departed
- AXA · Algona, IA
- Destination
- OWA · Owatonna, IA
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
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Front
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 150 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 300° at 4 knots
- Visibility
- 15 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 68 °F, dew point 54 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- MCW, 32 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.