- Date
- January 30, 2005, 14:00 local (22:00 UTC)
- Place
- Prineville, OR
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N53719Bellanca 7GCBC
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report July 7, 2005
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA FSDO
- FAA report
- 20050130003049A
- Case key
- 61104
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
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Probable cause
Other maintenance personnel's inadequate reassembly of the tail wheel assembly and the left main landing gear breaking assembly resulting in an inadvertent loss of control during the landing roll. Contributing factors were the pilot's inadvertent swerve during landing (aircraft control not possible), and the subsequent impact with rocks and trees.
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 said that the airplane was 12 hours out of restoration. He said that during the touchdown roll the airplane veered to the right, departed the runway and impacted some trees. Postimpact examination of the tailwheel assembly found that during its reassembly, two shims were installed backwards which had disabled the steering capability of the assembly. Additionally the master cylinder on the left brake pedal had separated, and it was determined that its safety cotter key was missing. The impact destroyed the engine cowling, bent the left gear box, and wrinkled the empennage. The pilot reported the accident on March 7, 2005.
Factual narrative
On January 30, 2005, at approximately 1400 Pacific standard time, a Bellanca 7GCBC, N53719, was substantially damaged when it ground looped/swerved during landing at Dry Creek Airpark, Prineville, Oregon. The commercial pilot and his passenger were not injured. The pilot/owner was operating the flight under Title 14 CFR Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed for the local, personal flight that originated at approximately 1300. No flight plan had been filed.
The pilot said that the airplane was 12 hours out of restoration. He said that during the touchdown roll the airplane veered to the right, departed the runway and impacted some trees. Postimpact examination of the tailwheel assembly found that during its reassembly, two shims were installed backwards which had disabled the steering capability of the assembly. Additionally the master cylinder on the left brake pedal had separated, and it was determined that its safety cotter key was missing. The impact destroyed the engine cowling, bent the left gear box, and wrinkled the empennage.
The pilot reported the accident on March 7, 2005.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N53719
- Reported as
- Bellanca 7GCBC
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 858-75
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320, 150 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Charles R. Allen
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Aerobatic; Standard, Utility; Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · October 1, 2004 · 2 hours before
- Departed
- OG21 · Prineville, OR
- Destination
- 0G21
- Airport
- OG21 · Dry Creek Airpark, runway 07, 3,000 × 35 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
- 74
- Injuries
- None
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Last flight review
- March 16, 2004
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 20,000 total · 2,100 in this make and model · 6 in the last 90 days · 3 in the last 30 days · 2 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 150° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 52 °F, dew point 28 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.31 inHg
- Observed at
- RDM, 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.