# NTSB DEN06LA003: Aeronca 7AC, N84580, Berthoud, CO, October 9, 2005 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Limited investigation · Final report - Date: October 8, 2005, 19:20 local (Oct 9, 2005, 01:20 UTC) - Place: Berthoud, CO - Coordinates: 40.300964, -105.079185 (estimated) - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=40.3010&lon=-105.0792&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Enroute](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/400) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report March 28, 2006 - Report: Approved by Office Director - Parties: Casper Flight Standards Field Office - NTSB case key (mKey): 62640 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=DEN06LA003 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/62640/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DEN06LA003 ## Probable cause the pilot's improper in-flight decision making which resulted in loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion. Contributing factors are the transmission wires and the metal pole. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - Loss of engine power, cruise - fluid,fuel - exhaustion (cause) - in-flight planning/decision - improper, pilot in command (cause) - Forced landing, emergency descent/landing - In flight collision with object, emergency descent/landing - object - wire,transmission (contributing factor) - object - pole (contributing factor) ## Analysis The Continental C-65 engine had been removed, and the airplane was equipped with a Lycoming O-235-C1 engine, rated at 115 horsepower at 2,600 rpm. According to the pilot, he filled his fuel tanks (13 gallons each wing) and took off. He made four touch-and-go landings at his private airstrip, then flew north "to see the aspens." On the return leg, the engine "sputtered." He enriched the mixture and the engine ran smoothly. Shortly thereafter, the engine sputtered again. The fuel gauges indicated between 1/4 and 1/2 full. He rocked the wings and the engine ran smoothly again. Finally, after flying for 2-1/2 hours, the engine completely lost power. Unable to reach his airstrip, the pilot elected to land on a county road. The airplane struck telephone wires and a steel post alongside the road, tearing off the left wing. The pilot told a sheriff's deputy that he ran out of fuel. According to the salvage crew that retrieved the airplane, they drained 2-1/2 gallons of fuel from the right tank. The pilot said there should have been another 2-1/2 gallons of fuel in the left tank. The engine was later functionally tested to full power. ## Factual narrative On October 8, 2005, approximately 1920 mountain daylight time, an Aeronca 7AC, N84580, operated and piloted by a private pilot, was destroyed when it struck telephone lines and impacted terrain following a loss of engine power near Berthoud, Colorado. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The local personal flight was being conducted under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91 without a flight plan. The pilot sustained no injuries. The flight originated from a private airstrip near Berthoud approximately 1700. The Continental C-65 engine had been removed, and the airplane was equipped with a Lycoming O-235-C1 engine, rated at 115 horsepower at 2,600 rpm. According to the pilot, he filled his fuel tanks (13 gallons each wing) and took off. He made four touch-and-go landings at his airstrip, then flew north to the Laramie, Wyoming, area "to see the aspens." On his return leg as he approached the Red Feathers Lakes area, the engine "sputtered." He enriched the mixture and the engine ran smoothly. As he approached Longmont, Colorado, the engine sputtered again. He said the fuel gauges indicated between 1/4 and 1/2 full. He rocked the wings and the engine ran smoothly again. As he approached Berthoud, the engine lost power. The pilot said he had been aloft for 2-1/2 hours. Unable to reach his airstrip, the pilot elected to land on Road 23E, just south of Road 4 in Larimer County. The airplane struck telephone wires and a steel post alongside the road, tearing off the left wing. The pilot told a Larimer County sheriff's deputy that he ran out of fuel. According to the salvage crew that retrieved the airplane, they drained 2-1/2 gallons of fuel from the right tank. The pilot said there should have been another 2-1/2 gallons of fuel in the left tank. On November 17, 2005, the engine (s/n 2024-15) was functionally tested at the facilities of Beegles Aircraft Service in Greeley, Colorado. Prior to the test, it was noted that the gascolator was empty. A maximum of 2,200 rpm was achieved, and there was a 75 rpm drop when each magneto was tested. Fuel flowed normally from the forward wing supply line, but would not flow from the aft supply line. Examination disclosed that the aft supply line was pinched inside the fuselage in an area of impact damage. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N84580](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N84580-2018-03-08), registration cancelled 2018-03-08, S/N 7AC-3289, built 1946 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Aeronca 7AC - Registry model: [Aeronca 7AC](https://openairdocs.org/model/aeronca-7ac) (registry code 2110102) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Continental A&C65 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/continental-a-c65-series) (registry code 17003, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 5494768 - Engines: Lycoming O-235-C1 100 horsepower reciprocating - Damage: Destroyed - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Registered owner: Masonville Trucking - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Departed: Berthoud, CO - Destination: Berthoud, CO ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 52; injuries: none; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land; last flight review October 1, 2003; seat: front; flight hours: 22 in this make and model ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day - Wind: 20° at 5 knots - Visibility: 10 statute miles - Lowest ceiling: none - Temperature: 66 °F, dew point 30 °F - Altimeter: 29.67 inHg - Observed at: FNL ## 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 20051008026459A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20051008026459A), Oct 8, 2005: Bbavia 7AC, Berthoud, CO, Destroyed. (-23) Pilot stated he encountered unexplained engine roughness while conducting a flight as a sport pilot. While subsequently flying toward a runway that would… ## Other investigations on N84580 (1) 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. - [NTSB CEN16FA130](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN16FA130), Mar 20, 2016: Aeronca 7AC (N84580), Ellsworth, NE, destroyed, 1 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot's impairment due to carbon monoxide poisoning from a known cracked engine exhaust muffler, which resulted in a loss of aircraft control. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's… 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. --- OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.