28 May 2018: AERONCA 7AC

28 May 2018: AERONCA 7AC — Unknown operator

No fatalities • Vinton, IA, United States

Probable cause

The pilot’s failure to maintain directional control while landing in gusting tailwind conditions.

— NTSB Determination

Accident narrative

After overflying the airport to determine the wind direction, the pilot reported that, she landed in variable crosswind conditions, during touchdown "at or near stall speed", the tailwheel-equipped airplane encountered a gust of wind. She added, the airplane veered left and she attempted to correct with immediate application of right rudder and right brake. Subsequently, the airplane exited the left side of the runway into the grass and the right wingtip struck the ground. She added that she was able to taxi the airplane to park.

The airplane sustained substantial damage to the right wing, right wing spar, and right wing lift strut.

The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

The automated weather observation system located at the accident airport reported that, about the time of the accident, the wind was from 140° at 11 knots, gusting to 18 knots. The pilot landed on runway 34.

Contributing factors

  • cause Directional control — Not attained/maintained
  • cause Pilot
  • Effect on operation
  • Effect on operation

Conditions

Weather
VMC, wind 140/11kt, vis 10sm

Loading the flight search…

What you can do on Flight Finder

  • Search flights between any two airports with live fares.
  • By aircraft — pick a plane model (e.g. Boeing 787, Airbus A350) and see every route it flies from your origin.
  • Route map — click any airport worldwide to explore its destinations, or draw a radius to find nearby airports.
  • Global aviation safety — aviation accident database, 5,200+ records since 1980, with map and rankings by aircraft and operator.
  • NTSB safety feed — recent U.S. aviation accidents and incidents from the official NTSB CAROL database, updated daily.

Frequently asked questions

How do I search flights by aircraft type on FlightFinder?

Pick an aircraft model — Boeing 737, Airbus A320, A380, Boeing 787 Dreamliner and more — enter your origin airport, and FlightFinder shows every route that plane flies from there with live fares.

Which aircraft types can I filter by?

We support Boeing 737/747/757/767/777/787, the full Airbus A220/A319/A320/A321/A330/A340/A350/A380 family, Embraer E170/E175/E190/E195, Bombardier CRJ and Dash 8, and the ATR 42/72 turboprops.

Is FlightFinder free to use?

Search and schedules are free. Pro ($4.99/month, $39/year, or $99 one-time lifetime) unlocks the enriched flight card — on-time stats, CO₂ per passenger, amenities, live gate & weather — plus My Trips with push alerts.

Where does the route data come from?

Live schedules come from Amadeus, AeroDataBox and Travelpayouts. Observed routes (which aircraft actually flew a given city pair) are crowdsourced from adsb.lol ADS-B data under the Open Database License.