History of Flight
On January 21, 2017, at 1420 central standard time, a Bellanca 7GCBC, N91Z, descended and impacted terrain while maneuvering after takeoff from Marian Airpark (F06) in Wellington, Texas. The commercial pilot and a passenger were fatally injured, and the airplane was destroyed. The airplane was owned by Boedeker Flying Service, Inc., of Childress, Texas, and operated by the pilot under 14 CFR Part 91 as a personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed. The local flight was originating at the time of the accident.
The pilot's wife stated that her husband had taken his mother for a 15- to 20-minute flight before the accident flight. The purpose of the accident flight was to take his cousin flying. During takeoff, the airplane stayed in "ground effect for a little while" before it began climbing. The airplane "pitched hard over to the left," and it "looked like a stall." The pilot's wife stated that she was unable to hear engine noise because she was inside a car at the end of the runway during the accident flight.
A witness, who had been driving by the airport, stopped and took a series of photos of the airplane. The first photos show the airplane near or past the departure end of the runway at a height of about one wingspan, initially in a 20° right-bank turn and then in a right climbing turn. The next photos show the airplane at an altitude of about 100 to 150 ft in a left turn with a bank angle that increased to about 80° to 90° before the airplane descended and impacted a wheat field south of the airport.
Personnel Information
According to the pilot's logbook, which had entries dated April 26, 2010, to January 2 to 4, 2017, the pilot had accumulated 2,000 hours of flight experience. The first logbook entry for a flight in the accident airplane was dated May 30, 2016, which was an instructional flight; this was followed by five consecutive entries for instructional flights in the accident airplane, with the last dated August 27, 2016.
The pilot had no FAA record of previous accidents, incidents, or enforcement actions.
The president of Boedeker Flying Service stated that the pilot was hired in February or March 2014 as a full-time employee to load airplanes and provide ground support. The president stated that he did not know the pilot to have "irresponsible habits" and did not know of "anything that was a warning sign."
Aircraft Information
The airplane's registration to Boedeker Flying Service was listed as "pending" by the FAA in May 2016. The president stated that he had sent the aircraft registration application to the FAA "a good while" ago and that he did not understand why the registration had not been updated. The president stated that he did not charge employees for the use of the airplane, and the airplane was purchased for recreational use by company employees. The president said that the secondary benefit was to allow those who aspired to become aerial applicator pilots to gain experience.
Wreckage and Impact Information
The accident site was located about 0.55 nautical mile and 205° from the airport at an elevation of about 1,956 ft mean sea level. The airplane was upright on a north heading with ground scarring extending north about 10 ft from the nose. The ground scar contained plexiglass, landing gear, and the propeller. The engine, wings, and tail surfaces were attached to the fuselage. The propeller was separated at the attachment bolts from the engine's crankshaft flange; the bolts had 45° granular fracture features consistent with torsional overstress. One propeller blade exhibited S-shaped bending and chordwise scratching. There was no evidence of soot or fire.
Both wing flaps and the cockpit flap control lever were in the 0° flap position. Flight control continuity was confirmed. The instrument panel exhibited impact damage. The magneto key switch was in the both position, master switch on, carburetor heat control off, primer off, fuel selector on. Throttle control was near full forward, carburetor heat control in midrange, mixture control full forward. The airspeed indicator indicated 0 knots; altimeter indicated about 1,300 ft with a setting of about 29.35 inHg. The tachometer was broken, but the needle position was about 1,500 rpm, with a witness mark at about 1,700 rpm. The tachometer hour indication was 238.1 hours.
There was no data plate on the engine. Oil, fuel, and ignition components were intact. The engine contained oil; the oil suction screen had no metallic debris. The exhaust was unobstructed. The carburetor was attached but had a crack. Throttle control was attached; mixture cable separated due to overstress. The carburetor fuel inlet screen was unobstructed. The float chamber contained liquid consistent with 100LL aviation fuel and engine oil; no water was detected. The float was intact and moved freely. Top spark plugs were removed; engine rotation produced compression. Valve train continuity was confirmed. Both magnetos produced spark and timing was within specifications. The left magneto impulse coupling functioned normally.
Medical and Pathological Information
An autopsy of the pilot was performed by South Plains Forensic Pathology, P.A., Lubbock, Texas, which stated the cause of death was blunt force injuries of the head. The FAA's Bioaeronautical Sciences Research Laboratory performed toxicology testing on samples from the pilot, which was negative for carbon monoxide, ethanol, and drugs.