- Date
- April 5, 1987, 16:00 local (22:00 UTC)
- Place
- Horizon City, TX
- Injuries
- 1 serious, 1 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N85397Aeronca 7AC
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report March 21, 1988
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19870405008489A
- Case key
- 22346
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
The pilot delayed in initiating recovery from a simulated forced landing. Then when the throttle was advanced from idle to full open the engine hesitated briefly and full power was restored too late to recover. A hard left bank was initiated to align the aircraft with a dirt road. The road was slightly overshot and the wingtip impacted a sand dune which was four or five feet higher than the surface of the road. The aircraft cartwheeled and came to a stop with the wings and main landing gear partially torn off.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N85397
- Reported as
- Aeronca 7AC
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 7AC-4137
- Airframe hours
- 7,706
- Engine
- Continental A-65-8, 65 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Richard T. Green
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · May 1, 1986
- Departed
- TX04 · Horizon City, TX
- Destination
- TX04 · Horizon City, TX
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
- 37
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 181 total · 49 in this make and model · 109 as pilot in command · 2 in the last 90 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 280° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 50 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 64 °F, dew point 25 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- ELP, 15 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.