Bellanca 7GCBC N5507K

Summary

On 22 September 2016 at about 00:00 local time, a Bellanca 7GCBC registered N5507K was involved in an accident near Soldotna, Alaska, 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

22 September 2016 at 00:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Soldotna, Alaska, United States

Coordinates

60.7403, -152.2117

Aircraft

Bellanca 7GCBC

Registration

N5507K

Category

Airplane

Year built

1978

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Soldotna → Soldotna

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ANC16CA073

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s failure to maintain an adequate glidepath during landing, which resulted in an unintended touchdown before the chosen landing area.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that, while on a personal cross-country flight and approaching his destination airstrip, smoke in the cockpit and oil on the windscreen limited his forward visibility. He said that, while landing, he inadvertently touched down about 15 yards short of the site. The right wing struck a stand of brush, which pivoted the airplane to the right, and the left wing subsequently struck the ground. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the left-wing spar and fuselage. After the accident, the pilot would not disclose to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) or the Alaska State Troopers where the airplane was located. Thus, neither the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) nor NTSB could examine the airplane after the accident. The airplane was eventually recovered to Soldotna, Alaska, where an FAA airworthiness aviation safety inspector from the Anchorage Flight Standards District Office examined it. The FAA inspector reported that the accident pilot had since sold the airplane on an "as is where is" basis. The new owner reported that there were no mechanical problems with the airplane except for the damage sustained in the accident.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.