- Date
- June 9, 2012, 19:30 local (23:30 UTC)
- Place
- Blairs, VA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N2067Aeronca 7AC
- Defining event
- Takeoff: Loss of control in flight
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 15, 2012
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- NTSB office
- Eastern Region Aviation
- Parties
- FAA/FSDO
- FAA report
- 20120609012529A
- Case key
- 84018
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 pilot's failure to maintain directional control during a takeoff into sun glare.
Findings · 3
NTSB’s coded findings. Those marked are part of the probable cause; the rest are factors or other findings. Under each, the cases with the same finding.
Sequence of events
The events NTSB coded, in order, by phase of flight. The defining event is the one that best describes the accident. Under each, the cases with the same event anywhere in their sequence.
Analysis
The pilot reported that he was taking off to the west on a 2,500-foot-long, 75-foot-wide, turf runway. The pilot stated that, immediately after the airplane became airborne, he was blinded by the setting sun. The airplane drifted right and impacted airplanes that were parked off the right side of the runway. The pilot added that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. Examination of the airplane revealed substantial damage to the airplane’s left wing.
Factual narrative
The pilot reported that he was attempting a westerly takeoff on a 2,500-foot-long, 75-foot-wide, turf runway. During the takeoff, immediately after the airplane became airborne, the pilot was blinded by the setting sun. The airplane drifted right and impacted parked airplanes off the right side of the runway. The pilot added that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions with his airplane. Examination of the pilot's airplane by a Federal Aviation Administration inspector revealed substantial damage to the left wing. The wind was reported as calm at a nearby airport, about the time of the accident.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N2067
- Reported as
- Aeronca 7AC
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 2067
- Airframe hours
- 4,050
- Engine
- Continental A65-8, 65 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Gibbs Edward L
- Registered owner
- Gibbs Edward L
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · September 2, 2011 · 30 hours before
- Departed
- NONE · Blairs, VA
- Destination
- VA02 · Ridgeway, VA
- Airport
- NONE · Private Airstrip, runway 27, 2,500 × 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
- 74
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- June 3, 2012
- Seat
- Right
- Flight hours
- 1,509 total · 250 in this make and model · 1,509 as pilot in command · 12 in the last 90 days · 6 in the last 30 days · 0 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 81 °F, dew point 57 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.02 inHg
- Observed at
- DAN, 10 nm away
Docket · 3
The files NTSB released with the investigation on August 17, 2012, on NTSB’s docket system: statements, records, photos and specialists’ reports. 1.3 MB in all.
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.