- Date
- December 30, 2003, 13:10 local (21:10 UTC)
- Place
- Bend, OR
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N727MRBellanca 8KCAB
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 1, 2004
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 20031230034489A
- Case key
- 58683
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
Directional control not maintained during landing. Factors include an icy runway and a snow bank.
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 private pilot reported that just after landing (wheel landing), and after reducing engine power to idle, the aircraft began to track to the left. The pilot reported that he applied right rudder and corrective action, however, the airplane continued to track to the left of centerline. The airplane eventually exited the runway edge, encountered a two-foot snow bank, and nosed over. The pilot reported that the landing runway was "extremely icy" at the time of the accident.
Factual narrative
On December 30, 2003, about 1310 Pacific standard time, a tail-wheel equipped Bellanca 8KCAB (Super Decathlon), N727MR, sustained substantial damage when the airplane nosed-over during landing at the Bend Municipal Airport, Bend, Oregon. The airplane is owned by Tail Wheel Excursion, LLC, and was being operated by the pilot as a visual flight rules (VFR) cross-country flight under the provisions of Title 14, CFR Part 91, when the accident occurred. The private pilot and passenger aboard the airplane were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and a flight plan had been activated for the flight that originated from Hillsboro, Oregon, approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes prior to the accident.
During a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board IIC, on January 29, and a subsequent written statement dated January 30, the pilot reported that just after landing on runway 16 (wheel landing), and after reducing engine power to idle, the aircraft began to track to the left. The pilot reported that he applied right rudder and corrective action, however, the airplane continued to track to the left of centerline. The airplane eventually exited the runway edge, encountered a two-foot snow bank, and nosed over.
The airplane sustained substantial damage to the wing spar assembly.
The pilot reported that the landing runway (16) was "extremely icy" at the time of the accident.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N727MR
- Reported as
- Bellanca 8KCAB
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 494-79
- Engine
- Lycoming AEIO-360, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- William D. Gonce
- Registered owner
- Tailwheel Excursions, LLC
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Aerobatic
- Departed
- 7S3 · Hillsboro, OR
- Destination
- S07 · Bend, OR
- Flight plan
- VFR
- Airport
- S07 · Bend Muni, runway 16, ice
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
- 50
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3
- Flight hours
- 243 total · 65 in this make and model · 12 in the last 90 days · 5 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.