Bellanca 7KCAB N8709V

Summary

On 9 July 2012 at about 20:30 local time, a Bellanca 7KCAB registered N8709V, operated by Kempner James C, was involved in an accident near Williston, North Dakota, 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

9 July 2012 at 20:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Williston, North Dakota, United States

Coordinates

48.0392, -102.3397

Aircraft

Bellanca 7KCAB

Registration

N8709V

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Kempner James C

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Business

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Williston → Williston

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN12CA430

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to ensure a suitable landing surface.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that he was performing a landing in a wheat field. When the pilot began to flare the airplane, the main landing gear became entangled with the tall wheat grass, which resulted in the airplane lurching forward and to the right. The right wing impacted the ground, and the airplane nosed over. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right wing, the vertical stabilizer, and the rudder. Nine days before the accident, the pilot had marked a 1,000-foot-long landing strip in the field. He stated that the wheat grass had grown considerably since then.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.