Aeronca 7AC N84580

Summary

On 9 October 2005 at about 01:20 local time, a Aeronca 7AC registered N84580 was involved in an accident near Berthoud, Colorado, United States. One person was on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

9 October 2005 at 01:20

Classification

Accident

Location

Berthoud, Colorado, United States

Coordinates

40.3010, -105.0792

Aircraft

Aeronca 7AC

Registration

N84580

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Berthoud → Berthoud

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

DEN06LA003

Nobody was injured.

the pilot's improper in-flight decision making which resulted in loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion. Contributing factors are the transmission wires and the metal pole.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The Continental C-65 engine had been removed, and the airplane was equipped with a Lycoming O-235-C1 engine, rated at 115 horsepower at 2,600 rpm. According to the pilot, he filled his fuel tanks (13 gallons each wing) and took off. He made four touch-and-go landings at his private airstrip, then flew north "to see the aspens." On the return leg, the engine "sputtered." He enriched the mixture and the engine ran smoothly. Shortly thereafter, the engine sputtered again. The fuel gauges indicated between 1/4 and 1/2 full. He rocked the wings and the engine ran smoothly again. Finally, after flying for 2-1/2 hours, the engine completely lost power. Unable to reach his airstrip, the pilot elected to land on a county road. The airplane struck telephone wires and a steel post alongside the road, tearing off the left wing. The pilot told a sheriff's deputy that he ran out of fuel. According to the salvage crew that retrieved the airplane, they drained 2-1/2 gallons of fuel from the right tank. The pilot said there should have been another 2-1/2 gallons of fuel in the left tank. The engine was later functionally tested to full power.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.