Bellanca 7ACA N9176L

Summary

On 18 August 2017 at about 23:09 local time, a Bellanca 7ACA registered N9176L was involved in an accident near Fairhope, Alabama, United States. 2 people were on board and one had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

18 August 2017 at 23:09

Classification

Accident

Location

Fairhope, Alabama, United States

Nearest airport

H L Sonny Callahan (CQF)

Coordinates

30.5231, -87.9033

Aircraft

Bellanca 7ACA

Registration

N9176L

Category

Airplane

Year built

1971

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Daphne → Fairhope

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA17LA282

1 person had minor injuries.

A total loss of engine power for reasons that could not be determined because postaccident examination and a test run of the engine did not reveal any evidence of mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The private pilot stated that he had already completed several landings and had just taken off and started a left crosswind turn about 500 ft above ground level when the engine lost total power. He immediately lowered the nose of the airplane, checked the fuel selector position, and applied carburetor heat. The engine restarted, and the pilot began a climb; however, the engine stopped running again, restarted, and then quit a third time. By this time, the pilot-rated passenger had taken control of the airplane and performed a forced landing to a field, which resulted in substantial damage to the fuselage and right wing. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that adequate fuel remained in both fuel tanks, and a test run of the engine showed that it ran through its entire power band without interruption. The examination did not reveal any evidence of preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. Although the weather conditions were conducive to the formation of carburetor ice at cruise/glide engine power settings, the airplane was operating at a high power setting; thus, it is unlikely that ice formed in the carburetor during takeoff.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.