Aeronca 7AC N1611E

Summary

On 23 February 2024 at about 00:30 local time, a Aeronca 7AC registered N1611E was involved in an accident near Valley Springs, California, United States. One person was 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

23 February 2024 at 00:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Valley Springs, California, United States

Coordinates

38.1696, -120.7559

Aircraft

Aeronca 7AC

Registration

N1611E

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

Calaveras → Elk Grove

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR24LA094

1 person had minor injuries.

The pilot’s decision to maneuver the airplane at a low altitude and inadvertently entering a box canyon where the airplane could not outclimb the rising terrain.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot stated that en route to her destination, she was practicing low-altitude ground reference maneuvers. The last maneuver ended with the airplane in a box canyon. The airplane had insufficient altitude, airspeed, and distance from the canyon walls to turn around. As the airplane approached the end of the canyon, she realized the airplane would not be able to out-climb the rising terrain. She looked for a clear spot to land and reduced the throttle to idle while shutting off the fuel. The pilot tried to maneuver to avoid taller terrain and touched down in between trees with the wings impacting them. During the accident sequence, the airplane incurred substantial damage to the wings. The pilot reported that there were no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.