Aeronca 7AC N84065

Summary

On 1 April 2025 at about 13:30 local time, a Aeronca 7AC registered N84065 was involved in an accident near Martinsville, Virginia, 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

1 April 2025 at 13:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Martinsville, Virginia, United States

Nearest airport

Blue Ridge (MTV)

Coordinates

36.6359, -80.0299

Aircraft

Aeronca 7AC

Registration

N84065

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Unknown → Farmville

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA25LA161

1 person had minor injuries.

The pilot inadvertently turned off the fuel selector valve on takeoff which resulted in a loss of engine power.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot was attempting to take off when his handheld radio fell from its holder and came to rest under a control cable. The pilot said that once the climb attitude was established, he reached down and picked up the radio and inadvertently turned off the fuel selector valve. Less than a minute later, the engine lost power. The pilot said he ran the emergency checklist and checked that the fuel was “on”, but he was too low to re-start the engine. The pilot made a forced landing north of the runway on airport property resulting in substantial damage to the fuselage.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.