Aeronca 7AC N3708E

Summary

On 8 May 2004 at about 23:22 local time, a Aeronca 7AC registered N3708E was involved in an accident near Fort Stockton, Texas, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

8 May 2004 at 23:22

Classification

Accident

Location

Fort Stockton, Texas, United States

Coordinates

30.9156, -102.9161

Aircraft

Aeronca 7AC

Registration

N3708E

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Van Horn → Fort Stockton

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

FTW04LA124

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's improper leaning of the fuel/air mixture in-flight, which resulted in a loss of engine power. Factor were the wind gusts and the crosswind.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The 821-hour commercial pilot lost engine power while in cruise flight at 2,500 feet mean sea level approximately 25 miles west of his intended destination. While en route, he noticed the oil temperature gauge indicated 240 degrees (red line was 145 degrees). The pilot reduced engine rpm from 2,400 to 2,200, and increased the airplane's mixture setting. The oil temperature began to decrease. Shortly after, the engine suddenly began to lose power. The pilot increased the mixture setting to "full rich", and applied carburetor heat, but the engine continued to lose power. He was unable to maintain altitude and executed a forced landing to a service road on Interstate 10. Upon landing, the pilot was unable to keep the airplane straight due to the strong, gusting crosswinds and collided with a metal fence post and mesquite trees. Examination of the top and bottom spark plugs revealed the #2 and #4 plugs were oily, and the #1 and #3 plugs appeared white in color. The oil, which was changed approximately 8 hours before the accident, was dark in color. When asked how this accident could have been prevented, the pilot reported, "I probably leaned engine too much too long causing the oil temp[erature] to reach 240 degrees. Run aircraft more rich to provide better cooling to internal combustion chambers." Weather reported at an airport about 17 miles from the accident site were reported as wind from 130 degrees at 17 knots gusting to 24 knots.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.