Accident Details
Probable Cause and Findings
Delay by the pilot-in-command to perform a go-around after the airplane bounced three times during the landing attempt. Contributing to the accident was the failure of the pilot to obtain a preflight weather briefing and his poor in-flight planning decision for attempting to land with a wind 10 degrees behind the right wing at 17 knots with gusts to 26 knots.
Aircraft Information
Registered Owner (Current)
Analysis
On April 16, 1996, about 1100 central daylight time, an Aeronca 7BCM, N2908E, registered to a private individual, experienced a loss of control during the landing roll at the Portland Municipal Airport, Portland, Tennessee. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time and no flight plan was filed for the 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight. The airplane was substantially damaged and the private-rated pilot, the sole occupant, sustained minor injuries. The flight originated about 0948 from the Maury County Airport, Columbia, Tennessee.
The pilot stated that he did not obtain a preflight weather briefing before departure and after arriving near the airport, the flight entered the traffic pattern to land on runway 19. The airplane bounced three times then during the landing roll at near taxiing speed, a gust of wind occurred and the airplane then became airborne. The airplane drifted off the runway and he then applied power but with obstructions ahead and unable to clear them, he elected to stall the airplane into a field. Both main landing gears collapsed and the left wing of the airplane was damaged by a piece of one of the propeller blades which separated after contact with the ground.
A weather observation taken on the airport about the time of the accident indicates that the wind was from 290 degrees at 17 knots with gusts to 26 knots.
Data Source
Data provided by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). For more information on this event, visit the NTSB Records Search website. NTSB# MIA96LA119