Landing / Ground Loss of Control · NTSB CEN20FA008
Aeronca 7AC — Green Bay, WI
| Date | October 17, 2019 |
| Location | Green Bay, WI |
| Aircraft | Aeronca 7AC |
| Purpose of flight | Personal |
| Conditions | Day · Visual Meteorological Cond |
| Phase / occurrence | Landing-flare/touchdown Collision during takeoff/land |
| Pilot age | 68 |
| Pilot total time | 2,000 hrs · Experienced |
| Time in type | Unknown |
| Fatalities | 1 |
Probable cause
NTSB findings
- Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Altitude-Not attained/maintained
- Personnel issues-Action/decision-Info processing/decision-Identification/recognition-Pilot
- Personnel issues-Action/decision-Action-Incorrect action selection-Pilot
What happened
The private pilot was on short final approach for landing to the grass runway. The south end of the runway was bordered by an east-west oriented road; witnesses on this road and dashboard camera video from another vehicle confirmed that the airplane was flying about 5 ft above the ground when it collided with the front left side of a westbound truck. The airplane became lodged on top of the truck and they continued off the right side of the road, through a ditch, and came to rest in a residential front yard. The pilot and driver were both fatally injured during the accident sequence.
A postaccident examination of the airplane did not reveal any mechanical malfunctions or anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. There were several propeller slash marks on the front left side of the truck, consistent with the propeller rotating during the collision.
There was no evidence of tire skid marks on the road and none of the witnesses reported any evasive maneuvers by the airplane; therefore, it is likely that neither the pilot nor the driver was aware of the impending collision. Additionally, there was no roadway signage warning of low-flying aircraft.