Undetermined · NTSB ERA13FA372
AERONCA 7AC — Taunton, MA
| Date | August 25, 2013 |
| Location | Taunton, MA |
| Aircraft | AERONCA 7AC |
| Purpose of flight | Personal |
| Conditions | Day · Visual Meteorological Cond |
| Phase / occurrence | Prior to flight Preflight or dispatch event |
| Pilot age | 69 |
| Pilot total time | 200 hrs · Low time |
| Time in type | Unknown |
| Fatalities | 2 |
Probable cause
NTSB findings
- Personnel issues-Task performance-Inspection-Preflight inspection-Pilot - C
- Aircraft-Aircraft systems-Flight control system-Gust lock or damper-Inadequate inspection - C
- Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Yaw control-Attain/maintain not possible - C
- Personnel issues-Task performance-Inspection-Preflight inspection-Passenger - F
What happened
The pilot/owner purchased the airplane about 1 month before the accident and was flying with a pilot-rated passenger who owned a similar model airplane. A witness reported that the airplane accelerated and climbed normally to an altitude of about 50 to 100 feet above the ground. It then entered a slow right turn and began to descend until it impacted the ground and immediately became engulfed in fire. The airplane came to rest in a ditch that was located about 1,100 feet from the beginning of the departure runway and 250 feet to the right of the runway center line. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that a rudder gust lock was installed over the rudder and vertical stabilizer, which prevented movement of the rudder. The control lock was similar to a rudder gust lock that was observed installed on the passenger's airplane. No other discrepancies that would have precluded normal operation of the airplane were noted. While it could not be determined who was at the controls of the airplane during the accident flight, both pilots should have noted the installation of the rudder gust lock either during a preflight inspection or during a pretakeoff check of the flight controls.