NTSB ERA23LA069 — 2022-10-28 · Accident, Maryland, United States

Current FAA registration · N68531

Make / Model: BELLANCA 7KCAB
Engine: LYCOMING IO-320 SERIES (150 hp)
Seats / Engines: 2 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date: 19720817
ADS-B equipped: Yes — Mode-S A918A5

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

N68531 Bellanca 7KCAB Minor

Probable cause & findings

The pilot’s failure to maintain directional control during the landing roll in crosswind conditions.

Factual narrative

The pilot reported that while on a personal flight he was attempting to execute a crosswind landing when the airplane encountered a gust of wind that raised the right wing and the airplane “weather vaned” to the right and into the wind. He applied full left rudder to correct the airplane’s direction but was unable. The airplane departed the right side of the runway, went down an embankment, and nosed over coming to rest nearly inverted. Both wings were substantially damaged during the accident. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

FAA avdata. C = Cause, F = Factor.

— Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Directional control-Not attained/maintained
— Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot
— Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Wind-Crosswind-Response/compensation

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2022_ERA23LA069.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

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