Low-Altitude Maneuvering · NTSB WPR12FA123
BELLANCA 7GCBC — Brockton, MT
| Date | March 5, 2012 |
| Location | Brockton, MT |
| Aircraft | BELLANCA 7GCBC |
| Purpose of flight | Personal |
| Conditions | Day · Visual Meteorological Cond |
| Phase / occurrence | Maneuvering-low-alt flying Abrupt maneuver |
| Pilot age | 54 |
| Pilot total time | 72 hrs · Student / very low time |
| Time in type | 5 hrs |
| Fatalities | 1, 1 serious |
Probable cause
NTSB findings
- Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Airspeed-Not attained/maintained - C
- Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot - C
- Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Altitude-Not attained/maintained - C
What happened
Witnesses reported that the airplane made two low altitude 360 degree turns then ascended rapidly followed by a descent into the ground characteristic of a stall. The airplane “belly flopped” onto the edge of an elevated drive likely due to insufficient altitude for the pilot to recover. The witnesses further reported that the engine sounded normal throughout the accident sequence. A postaccident examination of the airframe and engine revealed no evidence of mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operation. A GPS receiver was recovered from the accident; however, no data was recovered for the accident flight. Previous flight paths revealed flight maneuvers at low altitudes similar to the one described during the accident sequence.