Aeronca 7AC N82383

Summary

On 1 September 2012 at about 12:30 local time, a Aeronca 7AC registered N82383 was involved in an accident near Brighton, Michigan, United States. 2 people were on board and one died, one was seriously injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

1 September 2012 at 12:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Brighton, Michigan, United States

Nearest airport

Brighton Airport (45G)

Coordinates

42.5697, -83.7783

Aircraft

Aeronca 7AC

Registration

N82383

Category

Airplane

Year built

1946

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Brighton → Brighton

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN12FA601

1 person died.

The pilot’s failure to maintain airspeed following a partial loss of engine power for reasons that could not be determined during postaccident examination, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall and loss of airplane control. Contributing to the severity of the pilot’s head injuries was the failure of the shoulder harness assembly.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

Witnesses observed the airplane make a normal engine run-up before takeoff followed by a normal takeoff from the runway. Shortly after takeoff, the engine did not sound like it was developing full power, and the airplane was struggling to climb. Subsequently, the airplane made a 180-degree turn and then descended toward terrain in a nose-down attitude. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed no evidence of any preimpact mechanical failures or anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. Although the weather conditions at the time of takeoff were conducive to the formation of carburetor ice at glide and cruise power, it could not be determined whether carburetor ice was a factor in the loss of engine power. It is likely that the pilot failed to maintain airspeed during the turn back to the airport, which resulted in a stall. Postaccident examination of the airframe revealed that the pilot's shoulder harness failed during the accident. Material examination of the shoulder harness webbing and stitching showed that they failed due to an overload event. The occupants' injuries suggest that both occupants were using the four-point shoulder harnesses at the time of the accident and were exposed to strong deceleration forces. If the pilot's shoulder harness had not failed, he likely would not have suffered the brain injury he received, which caused permanent disability. However, it is possible that an intact shoulder harness could have led to more severe chest, abdominal, or cervical injuries. The investigation could not determine whether the pilot would have died or sustained a permanent disability from some other injury if the shoulder harness had remained intact.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.