N2502B

On August 10, 1996, about 1535 Alaska daylight time, a wheel equipped Aeronca 7BCM, N2502B, crashed while maneuvering over a remote airstrip, about 45 miles north of Northway, Alaska. The airplane was being operated as a visual flight rules (VFR) local area personal flight when the accident occurred. The airplane, registered to and operated by the pilot, sustained substantial damage. The certificated commercial pilot and the sole passenger were not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The flight originated at the Northway airport at 1500.

On August 11, 1996, at 1415, the pilot reported in a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC) that he was showing the area to another pilot. The airstrip, oriented in an east/west direction, is about 2,500 feet long at 3,000 feet mean sea level (msl). The pilot initially overflew the strip at a high elevation and then performed a low pass in a westerly direction. The pilot began a right turn after passing the west end of the strip at an altitude of 10 to 14 feet above the ground. He indicated that he encountered a down draft or wind shear conditions and the airplane collided with trees. The airplane received damage to the landing gear and fuselage. The pilot reported that when he departed from Northway, the wind conditions were light and variable and after the accident, the winds appeared calm.

The pilot holds a commercial pilot certificate with airplane single-engine, multi-engine, and instrument airplane ratings. In addition, the pilot holds a flight instructor certificate with airplane single-engine, multi-engine, and instrument ratings. In the pilot/operator report the pilot submitted to the Safety Board, the pilot indicated that a south wind was a factor in the accident. He reported the wind direction as south to southwest. He did not report any turbulence.