Aeronca 7AC N85086

Summary

On 15 July 2006 at about 13:50 local time, a Aeronca 7AC registered N85086 was involved in an accident near Parker, Colorado, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 were seriously injured. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

15 July 2006 at 13:50

Classification

Accident

Location

Parker, Colorado, United States

Nearest airport

Everitt (1CO8)

Coordinates

39.5289, -104.6578

Aircraft

Aeronca 7AC

Registration

N85086

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Parker → Parker

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

DEN06LA099

2 people were seriously injured.

the flight instructor's failure to maintain airspeed while maneuvering resulting in an inadvertent stall and subsequent impact with terrain. Contributing factors were the high density altitude, rising terrain, and improper in-flight planning.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

Prior to takeoff, the flight instructor and student discussed the direction of takeoff before the flight, and they elected to takeoff on runway 22, since the tailwind component was too strong for runway 4. They also discussed "a go/no go location on the strip where [they] would abort if not off the ground by that point." The instructor reported "the run-up was normal and everything seemed in order." The takeoff was normal and the airplane was airborne before the decision point. The airplane was "climbing out upslope, everything seemed normal as the student flew, until he said he might need some help." The instructor reported the airplane had stopped climbing and "the ridge was getting closer." Subsequently, they attempted a shallow bank at a direction 90 degrees from their original course. At that point, " the left wing dipped and we lost control." The instructor reported "we were slow and not very high, so there was not much momentum built up before we struck first the left wing tip, followed by the right wing and airplane." He also reported the engine had been operating normally throughout the flight, and there were no anomalies noted with the handling of the airplane. The calculated density altitude near the airport at the time of the accident was 8,675 feet.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.