- Date
- May 31, 1994, 13:30 local (17:30 UTC)
- Place
- Taunton, MA
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N33PAeronca 7AC
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report December 2, 1994
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Case key
- 38768
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 adequate airspeed which resulted in an inadvertent stall. A factor was unfavorable winds.
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 airplane had lifted off the runway, and climbed to an altitude above the tree line. According to the pilot he encountered a gust of wind resulting in the airplane drifting to the left of the runway, 'lost flying speed,' and impacted in an area of small trees and heavy thicket.
Factual narrative
On May 31, 1994, about 1330 eastern daylight time, a Aeronca 7AC, N33P, piloted by Mr. Harold Watt, collided with trees while taking off at the Taunton Municipal Airport, Taunton, Massachusetts. The airplane was substantially damaged. The pilot and one passenger were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed. The flight was operated under 14 CFR 91.
According to the pilot's statement on the NTSB Form 6120.1/2, the airplane had lifted off of runway 30, and, "...climbed to an altitude above the tree line and was hit by a severe gust of wind....veered to the left and lost flying speed...." According to the FAA, the airplane drifted to the left of the runway, impacting in an area of "small trees and heavy thicket."
Aircraft
- Registration
- N33P
- Reported as
- Aeronca 7AC
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 7AC-2801
- Airframe hours
- 5,027
- Engine
- Continental C-90, 90 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Harold Watt
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · October 6, 1993 · 79 hours before
- Airport
- TAN · King Field, runway 30, 3,496 × 75 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
- 79
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 2,000 total · 1,608 in this make and model · 20 in the last 90 days · 5 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 270° at 18 knots, gusting 20
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Temperature
- 70 °F
Other investigations on N33P · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.