Bellanca 7ECA N53893

Summary

On 30 August 2005 at about 18:35 local time, a Bellanca 7ECA registered N53893 was involved in an accident near San Jose, California, United States. One person was 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

30 August 2005 at 18:35

Classification

Accident

Location

San Jose, California, United States

Nearest airport

Reid-Hillview (RHV)

Coordinates

37.3328, -121.8197

Aircraft

Bellanca 7ECA

Registration

N53893

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

San Jose → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX05CA282

Nobody was injured.

the pilot's failure to maintain directional control of the airplane during the landing flare, which resulted in a collision with an runway sign.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airplane impacted a runway sign during an aborted landing after it drifted off the runway centerline during the landing flare. According to the pilot's written statement, he conducted his approach at an idle power setting while performing a slip. At the point of touchdown, the pilot experienced a "sudden and strong side drift to the right." The pilot applied full power to abort the landing and was attempting to correct back to the runway centerline when the airplane's lower fuselage impacted a runway sign. The impact with the sign resulted in the failure of an aileron control rod, and limited airplane control. The pilot diverted to an airport with a larger runway and landed uneventfully. The wind at the accident airport was reported as variable at 5 knots about 30 minutes prior to the landing. Thirty minutes following the event, the wind was reported as a 10-knot headwind with a 10-degree offset to the right from the runway centerline. The pilot reported no previous anomalies with the airplane or engine that would have prevented their normal operations.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.