- Date
- July 17, 1983, 20:34 local (Jul 18, 1983, 00:34 UTC)
- Place
- Homestead, FL
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N68556Bellanca 7ACA
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19830717039669A
- Case key
- 30913
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 plt reported that he 'topped off' his fuel tank with 12 gal of fuel at Homestead, FL. He then flew to the port largo arpt at key largo, FL and to the marathon arpt, marathon, FL, but did not report obtaining additional fuel. While en route back to Homestead, the eng lost power. During a landing in a cypress swamp, the landing gear sunk in deep mud & the acft nosed over, an exam of the eng revealed no preimpact/mechanical malfunction or failure, except that the cable from the battery to the starter was broken thru 70% of the wires. The plt noted that the starter would not turn the propeller when he attempted to restart the eng. Also, the ELT battery was overdue for a change & the ELT did not work. However, the downed acft was spotted by another plt & an air force helicopter was dispatched to evacuate the plt & passenger. The eng would consume aprx 3.7 gal/hr at 75% power.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N68556
- Reported as
- Bellanca 7ACA
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 62-72
- Airframe hours
- 860
- Engine
- Franklin 2A-120-A, 60 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Mr. Michael Drawdy
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- 100 hour · June 4, 1983 · 15 hours before
- Departed
- MTH · Marathon, FL
- Destination
- X 51 · Homestead Gnrl., FL
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
- 33
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 230 total · 17 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Night/dark
- Wind
- 120° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 6 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 91 °F, dew point 73 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- MIA, 38 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.