- Date
- November 3, 2007, 13:55 local (18:55 UTC)
- Place
- Arcola, TX
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N712JBellanca 7GCBC
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report January 31, 2008
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Houston, Texas
- Case key
- 67009
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 loss of control as result of the pilot's failure to compensate for existing wind conditions while landing. A contributing factor was the gusty crosswind.
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 private pilot lost control of the tailwheel-equipped airplane when he encountered a gust of wind from the right while attempting to land on Runway 27. Before the tailwheel contacted the ground, the tail moved left from the gust of wind causing the airplane to turn into the wind. The pilot was unable to compensate for gust of wind and lost control of the airplane. An attempt to execute a go-around was unsuccessful, and the airplane drifted off the 100-foot wide asphalt runway. The airplane contacted standing water in a nearby ditch, nosed over, and came to rest in the inverted position. The pilot reported the winds were from 290 degrees at 9 knots, gusting to 12 knots. The pilot reported having accumulated a total of 14-hours in the same make and model airplane.
Factual narrative
The private pilot lost control of the tailwheel-equipped airplane when he encountered a gust of wind from the right while attempting to land on Runway 27. Before the tailwheel contacted the ground, the tail moved left from the gust of wind causing the airplane to turn into the wind. The pilot was unable to compensate for gust of wind and lost control of the airplane. An attempt to execute a go-around was unsuccessful, and the airplane drifted off the 100-foot wide asphalt runway. The airplane contacted standing water in a nearby ditch, nosed over, and came to rest in the inverted position. The pilot reported the winds were from 290 degrees at 9 knots, gusting to 12 knots. The pilot reported having accumulated a total of 14-hours in the same make and model airplane.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N712J
- Reported as
- Bellanca 7GCBC
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 915-76
- Airframe hours
- 5,693.83
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-7, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Texas Taildraggers, doing business as Texas Taildraggers
- Registered owner
- Joy Bowden
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal; Standard, Aerobatic; Standard, Utility
- Last inspection
- Annual · October 1, 2007
- Departed
- GLS · Galveston, TX
- Destination
- AXH · Arcola, TX
- Airport
- AXH · Houston-Southwest, runway 27, 5,003 × 100 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
- 31
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Without waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- October 1, 2007
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 222 total · 14 in this make and model · 147 as pilot in command · 14 in the last 90 days · 9 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 290° at 9 knots, gusting 12
- Visibility
- 9 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 79 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.22 inHg