Bellanca 7GCAA N36008

Summary

On 8 September 2024 at about 21:33 local time, a Bellanca 7GCAA registered N36008 was involved in an accident near Rifle, Colorado, United States. One person was on board and 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

8 September 2024 at 21:33

Classification

Accident

Location

Rifle, Colorado, United States

Nearest airport

Rifle Garfield County (RIL)

Coordinates

39.5233, -107.8418

Aircraft

Bellanca 7GCAA

Registration

N36008

Category

Airplane

Year built

1973

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Positioning

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Richfield → Rifle

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN24LA344

1 person was seriously injured.

A total loss of engine power for undetermined reasons.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that, before takeoff on the third and final flight leg of the day, he topped off the fuel tanks. About 5 miles from the destination airport, the engine began to sputter and soon after lost all power. The pilot was unable to restart the engine and elected to make an emergency landing to a field. During the approach, he pitched up to avoid powerlines and the airplane stalled and impacted the ground in a nose-low attitude then nosed over. There was no evidence of a fuel leak at the accident site and the non-vented fuel caps remained secure. About 2 gallons of fuel were removed from the fuel system during the airplane recovery. The airplane’s fuel consumption rate during the previous leg was 9 gallons per hour, so given the amount of fuel the pilot added before departing on the accident flight, the airplane should have contained about 16 gallons of fuel at the accident site. Postaccident examination revealed no evidence of a fuel leak or preimpact anomalies of the fuel system. An engine test run was completed, but due to a bent propeller blade the engine was not operated to full power. There were no preimpact anomalies noted during the examination and engine test run that would have precluded normal operation. Given the documented refueling numbers and fuel consumption rate on the flight’s previous legs, even with the continuous updrafts and downdrafts, constant light turbulence, and occasional moderate turbulence encountered on the last leg of the flight, the airplane should have had ample fuel to complete the flight. Accordingly, the reason for the loss of engine power and lack of fuel at the accident site could not be determined.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.