NTSB ANC11CA072 — 2011-07-24 · McCarthy, Alaska, United States

Current FAA registration · N85194

Make / Model: AERONCA 7AC
Year of manufacture: 1946 · 65 years old at event
Engine: CONT MOTOR A&C65 SERIES (65 hp)
Seats / Engines: 2 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date: 19560607
ADS-B equipped: Yes — Mode-S ABAEBF

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

N85194 Aeronca 7AC None

Probable cause & findings

The separation of the right main landing gear oleo strut assembly, resulting in the collapse of the main landing gear during the landing roll.

Factual narrative

The pilot of the tundra tire-equipped airplane reported that while departing from a remote gravel bar, he heard a "clunk" just after takeoff. While en route to his destination airport, he noticed that the right main landing gear assembly had partially separated from the airplane. During the subsequent landing roll, the right main landing gear collapsed, and the right wing struck the ground, sustaining substantial damage. The pilot's postaccident inspection revealed a separated oleo shock absorber strut. He noted that other than the separated main landing gear oleo strut, there were no preaccident mechanical anomalies with the airplane. The pilot of the tundra-tire-equipped airplane reported that, while departing from a remote gravel bar, he heard a "clunk" just after takeoff. While en route to his destination airport, he noticed that the right main landing gear assembly had partially separated from the airplane. During the subsequent landing roll, the right main landing gear collapsed and the right wing struck the ground, sustaining substantial damage. The pilot's postaccident inspection revealed a separated oleo shock absorber strut. He noted that, other than the separated main landing gear oleo strut, there were no preaccident mechanical anomalies with the airplane. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

— Environmental issues-Physical environment-Runway/land/takeoff/taxi surfa-(general)-Contributed to outcome
C Aircraft-Aircraft systems-Landing gear system-Main gear strut/axle/truck-Failure - C

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2011_ANC11CA072.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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