- Date
- June 25, 1998, 12:30 local (18:30 UTC)
- Place
- Thompson Falls, MT
- Injuries
- 2 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N82834Aeronca 7-AC
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report February 15, 2001
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19980625024219A
- Case key
- 42809
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 instructor's inadequate remedial action with the application of excessive brake pressure.
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 of the Aeronca 7AC was applying braking during a practice short-field landing. The instructor pilot in the back seat told her to apply more braking, but she did not apply as much as the instructor thought was appropriate. The instructor therefore elected to apply additional braking, whereupon the aircraft started to nose over. As soon as the nose-over started, the instructor pilot released the brake pressure he had applied, but it was too late to keep the aircraft's nose from hitting the runway and the main gear from lifting off the runway surface. After hitting the runway, the aircraft fell back onto its main landing gear with sufficient force to tear one main gear attach fitting from the fuselage.
Factual narrative
On June 25, 1998, approximately 1230 mountain daylight time, an Aeronca 7AC, N82834, nosed down into the runway surface during the landing roll at Thompson Falls Airport, Thompson Falls, Montana. The commercial pilot and the flight instructor, were not injured, but the aircraft, which was owned and operated by the commercial pilot, sustained substantial damage. The 14 CFR Part 91 flight, which had been airborne for about two hours and ten minutes, was being operated in visual meteorological conditions. No flight plan had been filed, and there was no report of an ELT activation.
According to the pilot/owner of the aircraft, she was practicing a short field landing when the instructor told her to apply harder braking. When she did not apply as much braking as the instructor felt was appropriate, he elected to apply additional braking. As soon as the additional braking was applied, the aircraft started to roll forward onto its nose. According to the instructor, he released the additional braking as soon as the aircraft started to nose over, but it was too late to keep the aircraft from hitting its nose on the runway and lifting the main gear off the runway surface. The aircraft then fell back onto its gear, ripping one main gear leg attach fitting from the fuselage and damaging the rudder and a wingtip bow.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N82834
- Reported as
- Aeronca 7-AC
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 7AC-1484
- Engine
- Continental C-85, 85 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Carol L. Hayes
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · August 18, 1997
- Departed
- THM
- Airport
- THM · Thompson Falls, runway 25, 4,200 × 100 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
- 52
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 442 total · 30 in this make and model · 442 as pilot in command · 21 in the last 90 days · 11 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 20 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 5,000 ft overcast
- Temperature
- 61 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.