27 May 2022: AERONCA 7AC

27 May 2022: AERONCA 7AC (N84583) — Unknown operator

No fatalities • Monongahela, PA, United States

Probable cause

The pilot’s exceedance of the airplane’s critical angle of attack during the initial climb, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall.

— NTSB Determination

Accident narrative

On May 27, 2022, about 1900 eastern daylight time, an Aeronca 7AC, N84583, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Monongahela, Pennsylvania. The pilot was seriously injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector who responded to the accident site, witnesses reported that the airplane departed Rostraver Airport (FWQ), Monongahela, Pennsylvania, and was practicing touch-and-go takeoffs and landings when, after takeoff, the airplane pitched up “sharply, then went straight down.” The pilot stated that he was in the process of purchasing the airplane when the accident occurred. On the day of the accident, he performed several takeoffs and landings at another airport before flying to FWQ to get fuel. The pilot stated that he performed a few takeoffs and landings in the traffic pattern at FWQ, and “assumed” that, during the final takeoff, the airplane “got too slow and stalled.” Examination of the airplane at the accident site revealed that both wings remained attached to the fuselage, with the outboard leading edges impact damaged. The wooden propeller remained attached to the engine; one propeller blade was splintered along the entire span and the other blade was splintered about half its span. Examination of the airplane after recovery revealed continuity of the flight controls to all control surfaces. The engine was examined, and compression and suction were observed on all cylinders. Crankshaft and valvetrain continuity were confirmed when the propeller was rotated by hand. The cylinders were examined with a lighted borescope and no anomalies were noted with the piston faces, cylinder walls, or valves. The magnetos were removed and produced spark on all towers. There were no anomalies with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation before the accident. A review of the pilot’s logbooks revealed that he did not have any documented flight experience in the accident airplane make and model. The seller of the airplane stated that the accident flight was the pilot’s first flight in the accident airplane. The pilot’s tailwheel endorsement was completed on April 20, 2022, in an American Champion 7ECA Citabria; however, there was no documented flight time associated with the endorsement.

Contributing factors

  • Airspeed — Not attained/maintained
  • Angle of attack — Not attained/maintained
  • Pilot

Conditions

Weather
VMC, wind 210/07kt, 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.