History of Flight
On July 21, 2015, about 1845 mountain daylight time, an Aeronca 7BCM (L-16A), N8362H, impacted terrain in front of a residence in Auburn, Wyoming. The pilot and passenger were fatally injured, and the airplane was destroyed. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan had been filed. The local flight originated from Afton, Wyoming (KAFO), about 1830.
Three witnesses reported seeing the airplane fly over the Auburn LDS Shelter, and the rear occupant dropped candy out the window. The airplane banked steeply to the west, then south, then east, and crossed Highway 238 before starting a turn. According to one witness, the airplane pulled up steeply, stalled, and performed a tail slide. The nose dropped, and the airplane impacted the front yard next to a driveway at 4390 State Highway 238. There was no fire.
Personnel Information
The pilot, age 64, was seated in the front seat. He held a private pilot certificate with an airplane single-engine land rating and a third-class airman medical certificate dated July 15, 2015, with the restriction "Must wear corrective lenses." A flight instructor reported that the pilot had logged over 1,800 flight hours as of his biennial flight review on March 3, 2015, and flew at least three times a week. According to the airplane's co-owner, as of November 1, 2014, the pilot had logged 1,799.44 total flight hours, with 456.5 hours in N8362H. A logbook recovered from the wreckage showed entries from March 30, 2009, to July 13, 2015, with an additional 14.6 hours flown after November 1, 2014.
The passenger, age 22, was seated in the rear seat. He was scheduled to take his airman medical examination the following day and solo four days later. He had logged 11 hours total time, all in a Mooney M20C.
Aircraft Information
N8362H (serial number 7BCM-126), a model 7BCM, was manufactured by Aeronca Aircraft Corporation in September 1947 and was formerly a U.S. Army L-16A. It was powered by a Continental C-85-8FJ engine driving a McCauley 2-blade, all-metal, fixed-pitch propeller. The single-engine, two-place tandem airplane had fixed conventional landing gear and a steerable tail wheel. The wings-level power-off stall speed was 38 mph. The airplane received an annual inspection on January 14, 2015, at a total time of 2,096.04 hours, and the engine had accrued 1,610.13 hours total time with 755.67 hours since major overhaul.
Meteorological Information
At 1835, the recorded weather at Afton Municipal Airport (KAFO) included wind from 300 degrees at 3 knots, visibility 10 miles, scattered clouds at 7,500 and 12,000 feet, temperature 21°C, dew point 11°C, and an altimeter setting of 30.04 inches of mercury. The remarks noted lightning distant south.
Wreckage and Impact Information
The wreckage was located in a driveway at 4393 Wyoming Highway 238 in Auburn. Evidence indicated the airplane struck the ground in a nose-low, right-wing-low attitude, then slid across a gravel driveway for 57 feet on a magnetic heading of 137 degrees before stopping. The fuselage from the empennage to the cabin was aligned on a heading of 190 degrees, with the nose section canted 10 degrees to the right. The left wing had no leading edge damage, while the right wing had advanced forward with the outer leading edge crushed aft. The elevator trim tab was deflected full up, and the overhead control was in the full nose-down position. Control continuity was established from the flight controls to the cabin area. The propeller flange had separated from the crankshaft, with torsional overload evidence. Both propeller blades exhibited damage including bending, scratching, and leading edge gouges. Cockpit instruments showed the mixture full rich, throttle full forward, airspeed 80 mph, and other readings consistent with the impact.
Medical and Pathological Information
Autopsy reports determined both occupants died from multiple blunt traumatic injuries. The pilot's toxicology detected chlorthalidone (a diuretic used for hypertension) in liver and blood; no carbon monoxide or ethanol was found. The passenger's toxicology showed no carbon monoxide, ethanol, or drugs; a cyanide test was not performed.