- Date
- June 22, 1996, 19:30 local (Jun 23, 1996, 02:30 UTC)
- Place
- Vancouver, WA
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Takeoff
- Aircraft
- N81966Aeronca 7AC
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 28, 1997
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19960622014979A
- Case key
- 42401
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
failure of the pilot to maintain directional control of the airplane during take-off, which resulted in an inadvertent ground swerve and subsequent dragging of the right wing. The pilot's lack of experience in the make/model of aircraft was a related factor.
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 reported to an FAA inspector that during the initial takeoff roll, the airplane 'got a little sideways,' and immediately after becoming airborne, the right wing slammed into the ground. Also, the pilot reported that he had only 2 hours of flight time in the Aeronca 7AC aircraft before the accident.
Factual narrative
On June 22, 1996, approximately 1930 Pacific daylight time, an Aeronca 7AC, N81966, being flown by a private pilot, was substantially damaged when the aircraft's right wing struck the ground during takeoff from runway 28L at Evergreen Field, Vancouver, Washington. The pilot and passenger were uninjured. Visual meteorological conditions existed and no flight plan had been filed. The flight, which was personal, was to have been operated under 14CFR91.
The pilot reported to an FAA inspector that during the initial takeoff roll he "got a little sideways" and slammed the right wing into the ground immediately after becoming airborne. The pilot reported having only 2 hours of time in the 7AC aircraft prior to the accident.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N81966
- Reported as
- Aeronca 7AC
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 591
- Engine
- Continental A65, 65 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Evergreen Flying Service, Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · January 3, 1996
- Departed
- 59S
- Airport
- 59S · Evergreen Field, runway 28L, 2,000 × 100 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
- 37
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 103 total · 2 in this make and model · 55 as pilot in command · 22 in the last 90 days · 8 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 130° at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Temperature
- 66 °F, dew point 45 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- PDX, 4 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.