N1294E

On May 29, 2022, about 2055 eastern daylight time, an Aeronca 7AC, N1294E, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Melrose, Tennessee. The pilot and passenger received minor injuries. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight.

According to the pilot, he added about 11 gallons of fuel before departure for a total of about 12 gallons of fuel. He reported that he departed from his private grass airstrip on his farm near Maryville, Tennessee, about 1630, and proceeded northeast. He circled his farm for about 10 minutes and then proceeded toward a nearby mountain range and climbed to 2,500 ft msl. He flew in the vicinity of the range for about 15 minutes, descended to 1,500 ft msl, and turned northeast toward Seymour Air Park (TN20), Seymour, Tennessee. The airplane’s engine then lost power, and the pilot turned northwest, toward “river bottoms” that were about 1 mile away to attempt a forced landing. When it was obvious that the airplane could not reach the river bottoms, he maneuvered to an area that did not have any large trees. During the forced landing, the airplane’s right wing struck a tree and the airplane spun 180° before coming to rest. Both the pilot and the passenger egressed through the cabin door. In his written statement, the pilot did not indicate whether he had attempted to restart the engine or had applied carburetor heat after the engine lost all power.

Examination of the wreckage at the accident site the day after the accident occurred revealed that there was no fuel smell or fuel leak in and around the airplane wreckage. The fuel cap was removed, and the fuel cap and fuel port showed extensive rust. A wooden stick was used to check the fuel level and it indicated that about an inch of fuel remained in the fuel tank. No fuel sample was taken due to the inaccessibility of the gascolator at the accident site. The fuel selector located on the airplane’s engine panel was in the ON (down) position. The magneto switch was in the BOTH position and the carburetor heat was found in the off position. The tachometer showed 0047.2 hours. The right engine cowling was opened to inspect for damage and a bird’s nest was found on the aft cylinder. The bottom portion of the rudder was bent to the right, and the outboard portion of the right wing forward and aft spars were substantially damaged.

The postaccident examination of the engine revealed that the carburetor was broken at the neck and separated from the engine. It was attached to the airframe by the carburetor heat cable and fuel line from the gascolator. The intake box and fuel line were disconnected from the carburetor, and no fuel was found in the line. The carburetor was disassembled; the choke plate moved freely, and the throttle cable was broken at the throttle arm on the carburetor. There was a small amount of fuel in the float bowl; the float moved freely. The fuel screen was removed from the carburetor, and it was clean. The carburetor heat cable moved freely after it was disconnected from the intake.

The top spark plugs were removed and inspected. No fouling was noted. The crankshaft was rotated, and thumb compression was exhibited on all cylinders. The “P” leads on the magnetos were disconnected. The spark plugs leads were screwed back into the spark plugs to their corresponding cylinders and placed on the engine. All spark plugs showed spark as the crankshaft was rotated. The rocker box covers were removed from all four cylinders; the crankshaft was rotated, and all valves moved freely.

The airplane’s Pilot Operating Handbook stated that the fuel tank located directly behind the firewall held a total of 13 gallons of fuel. Fuel was gravity fed from the tank to the gascolator filter assembly and from the gascolator to the carburetor. The fuel shutoff valve was readily accessible from the front or rear seat on the engine control panel, which was located to the left of the front seat pilot. The Continental A-65-8 engine’s fuel consumption rate was about 4.25 gallons per hour.

The postaccident examination of the fuel system revealed that a fuel shutoff valve had been installed between the bottom of the fuel tank and the fuel line that led to the gascolator. The installed fuel shutoff valve was not labeled with ON and OFF locations and the valve was able to be turned 360° with ease, with no apparent detents. The fuel shutoff valve handle on the engine control panel had been disconnected. The existing fuel line from the fuel selector valve to the gascolator was properly connected, and no cracks were noted on the union between the fuel line and the gascolator. The gascolator bowl was missing. After disconnecting the fuel line from the shutoff valve, fuel trickled out and stopped as the valve was rotated. There were no entries in the aircraft logbooks that accounted for the fuel system modification.

According to the current airplane logbook, the airplane was grounded by the owner on October 9, 1977, due to cracked cylinders. The next entry was on April 10, 2002. The aircraft was restored and returned to service at this time. The airplane received annual inspections on the following dates: October 10, 2003; April 5, 2005; December 15, 2008; February 16, 2011; November 16, 2012; December 10, 2016; and November 2, 2021.

The current engine logbook started on April 6, 2002. (The original logbook was lost.) The entry documented the engine overhaul. The engine total time was unknown; the time since overhaul was 0 hours. The engine inspections were documented on the same dates as the aircraft annual inspections. The last engine inspection was on November 2, 2021; time since overhaul was 45.5 hours. There were no recorded maintenance actions in between the annual inspections in either the engine or airframe logbooks.

A weather reporting station located about 8 miles from the accident site indicated that the temperature was 84°F and the dew point was 61°F. FAA Special Airworthiness InformationBulletin CE-09-35, Carburetor Icing Prevention, indicated that the weather conditions were conducive to serious icing at glide power.