Aeronca 7AC N82320

Summary

On 15 April 2006 at about 15:50 local time, a Aeronca 7AC registered N82320 was involved in an accident near Haverhill, New Hampshire, 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

15 April 2006 at 15:50

Classification

Accident

Location

Haverhill, New Hampshire, United States

Coordinates

44.0800, -72.0083

Aircraft

Aeronca 7AC

Registration

N82320

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Post Mills → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

NYC06CA096

Nobody was injured.

The flight instructor's inadequate preflight planning, which resulted in a forced landing and subsequent impact with a sign.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

During departure from runway 19, a 2,500-foot long, by 60-foot wide runway, the airplane "experienced difficulty climbing." When the flight instructor realized the airplane would not be able to clear trees at the end of the runway, he performed a forced landing to a field. During the landing, the airplane impacted a sign, resulting in substantial damage. The flight instructor reported no mechanical deficiencies with the airplane, and additionally stated that the wind conditions were "gusty" at the time of takeoff. He reported that the maximum gross weight of the airplane was 1,220 pounds, and the airplane weight at the time of the accident was 1,171 pounds. He stated the accident could have been prevented if "only one person was onboard the airplane, as the horsepower was marginal with two people onboard." He also stated that he should have been more aware of the changing wind conditions. The closest recorded weather observation, from an airport 27 miles to the northwest, included winds from 230 degrees at 11 knots, gusting to 21 knots.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.