Aircraft Accident/Incident Report

Erhard, Minnesota 56534
Monday, October 1, 2001 18:00 CDT

NTSB Narrative Summary Released at Completion of Accident

The pilot said he was in a left turning descent from approximately 1,000 feet agl to approximately 700 feet agl when the airplane's left wing dropped. The pilot said, "I applied right stick, and simultaneously the airplane entered a spin. I pushed the stick immediately forward and applied right rudder - waiting for the aircraft to recover. The aircraft recovered approximately 35 feet from the ground, below a tree line that was quickly approaching. There was an area of open (unobstructed) ground to my left and I elected to land there. During the landing one of the landing gear collapsed and I slid to a stop short of the trees." The pilot said a fire occurred in the engine nacelle area. "My extinguisher was not adequate to extinguish the fire and eventually the entire fabric A/C (aircraft) was consumed." The pilot provided the following safety recommendation: "Maintain adequate airspeed at all times when airborne."

NTSB Probable Cause Narrative

The pilot not maintaining adequate airspeed while maneuvering in the turn. Factors relating to this accident were the low airspeed, the inadvertent stall, and the low altitude.

Event Information

Type of Event Accident
Event Date 10/1/2001
Event Day of the Week Monday
Time of Event 1800
Event Time Zone Central Daylight Time
Event City Erhard
Event State MINNESOTA
Event Country --
Zipcode of the event site 56534
Event Date Year 2001
Event Date Month 10
MidAir Collision Indicator No
On Ground Collision occurred ? No
Event Location Latitude --
Event Location Longitude --
Event Location Airport --
Event Location Nearest Airport ID --
Indicates whether the acc/inc occurred off or on an airport Off Airport/Airstrip
Distance from airport in statute miles --
Degrees magnetic from airport --
Airport Elevation --
Weather Briefing Completeness Not pertinent
Investigator's weather source Weather Observation Facility
Time of the weather observation 1753 Central Daylight Time
Direction of event from weather observation facility (degrees) 54
Weather Observation Facility ID PKD
Elevation of weather observation facility 1450
Distance of event from weather observation facility (units?) 49
Time Zone of the weather observation CDT
Lighting Conditions Day
Lowest Ceiling Height --
Lowest Non-Ceiling Height --
Sky/Lowest/Cloud Conditions Clear
Sky Condition for Lowest Ceiling None
Visibility Runway Visual Range (Feet) --
Visibility Runway Visual Value (Statute Miles) --
Visibility (Statute Miles) 6
Air Temperature at event time (in degrees celsius) 17
Dew Point at event time (in degress fahrenheit) 7
Wind Direction (degrees magnetic) 230
Variable Wind Indicator Wind direction could be determined
Wind Speed (knots) 5
Wind Velocity Indicator --
Wind Gust Indicator Not Gusting
Wind Gust (knots) --
Altimeter Setting at event time (in. Hg) 29.94
Density Altitude (feet) 2004
Intensity of Precipitation --
METAR weather report --
Event Highest Injury None
On Ground, Fatal Injuries --
On Ground, Minor Injuries --
On Ground, Serious Injuries --
Injury Total Fatal --
Injury Total Minor --
Injury Total None 2
Injury Total Serious --
Injury Total All --
Investigating Agency NTSB
NTSB Docket Number (internal use) 11958
NTSB Notification Source FAA
NTSB Notification Date Nov 9 2001 12:00AM
NTSB Notification Time 900
Fiche Number and/or location -used to find docket information DMS
Date of most recent change to record Jul 2 2002 4:28PM
User who most recently changed record NTSB\MONR
Basic weather conditions Visual Meteorological Cond
FAA District Office Minneapolis, MN FSDO

Aircraft Involved

Aircraft #1

Aircraft Registration Number N1746E
NTSB Number CHI02LA024
Missing Aircraft Indicator --
Federal Aviation Reg. Part Part 91: General Aviation
Type of Flight Plan filed None
Flight plan Was Activated? No
Damage Destroyed
Aircraft Fire Ground
Aircraft Explosion None
Aircraft Manufacturer's Full Name Aeronca
Aircraft Model 7AC
Aircraft Series Identifier --
Aircraft Serial Number 7AC-5313
Certified Max Gross Weight 1450
Aircraft Category Airplane
Aircraft Registration Class U.S. Registered/U.S. Soil
Aircraft is a homebuilt? No
Flight Crew Seats --
Cabin Crew Seats --
Passenger Seats --
Total number of seats on the aircraft 2
Number of Engines 1
Fixed gear or retractable gear Fixed
Aircraft, Type of Last Inspection 100 Hour
Date of Last Inspection Aug 27 2001 12:00AM
Airframe hours since last inspection 12
Airframe Hours 2765
ELT Installed Yes
ELT Activated Yes
ELT Aided Location of Event Site No
ELT Type --
Aircraft Owner Name Patrick L. Martin
Aircraft Owner Street Address 311 6th Street SE
Aircraft Owner City Pelican Rapids
Aircraft Owner State MN
Aircraft Owner Country USA
Aircraft Owner Zipcode 56572
Operator is an individual? No
Operator Name --
Operator Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Is Doing Business As --
Operator Address Same as Owner? Yes
Operator Street Address --
Operator City --
Operator State --
Operator Country --
Operator Zip code --
Operator Code --
Owner has at least one certificate None
Other Operator of large aircraft? --
Certified for Part 133 or 137 Operation --
Operator Certificate Number --
Indicates whether an air carrier operation was scheduled or not --
Indicates Domestic or International Flight --
Operator carrying Pax/Cargo/Mail --
Type of Flying (Per_Bus / Primary) Personal
Second Pilot on Board No
Departure Point Same as Event No
Departure Airport Code 47Y
Departure City Pelican Rapids
Departure State MN
Departure Country USA
Departure Time 1730
Departure Time Zone CDT
Destination Same as Local Flt dest & departure same, accident can occur anywhere
Destination Airport Code --
Destination City --
Destination State --
Destination Country --
Specific Phase of Flight Cruise
Report sent to ICAO? No
Evacuation occurred No
Date of most recent change to record Jun 17 2002 11:54AM
User who most recently changed record SULP
Since inspection or accident Time of Accident
Event Location Runway Number and Location --
Runway Length --
Runway Width --
Sight Seeing flight No
Air Medical Flight No
Medical Flight --