- Date
- June 9, 1990, 12:30 local (17:30 UTC)
- Place
- Deer River, MN
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N83555Aeronca 7AC
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 15, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19900609019609A
- Case key
- 34992
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
Airspeed not maintained and stall/spin encountered by the pilot in command.
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 pvt pilot said that shortly after takeoff, at about 150 AGL, the engine began to misfire. He lowered the nose and the engine began to run normally, so he re-established a climb, then the engine quit. He decided to declare an emergency and land, but said that his airspeed was too slow, and the acft entered a spin. Prior to impacting the terrain, the acft flared and hit the ground in a level attitude. Shortly after, the aircraft caught on fire and was destroyed. The pilot said that he thought he had about 3 1/2 gallons on fuel on board prior to takeoff. Witnesses said that there was about 1500 feet of usable runway left, when the engine failed.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N83555
- Reported as
- Aeronca 7AC
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 7AC-2230
- Engine
- Continental A-65, 65 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Rhoades, Wayne A.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Aerobatic
- Airport
- 9YO · Bowstring, runway 27, 2,398 × 150 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
- 58
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Single-engine sea
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 530 total · 50 in this make and model · 530 as pilot in command · 26 in the last 90 days · 6 in the last 30 days · 3 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 310° at 8 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Temperature
- -0 °F, dew point -0 °F
- Observed at
- GPZ, 10 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.