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Atlas / NTSB / ERA25LA161

NTSB CAROL · Event

Event ERA25LA161

2025-04-01 Martinsville, Virginia, United States Airport · MTV Minor 1 aircraft Status: Completed

Registry · N84065

FAA Aircraft Registry record.

Make / Model

AERONCA 7AC

Engine

CONT MOTOR A&C65 SERIES (65 hp)

Seats / Engines

2 seats · 1 engine

Last airworthiness date

19551023

ADS-B equipped

Yes — Mode-S AB8321

Registrant of record

SALE REPORTED

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot inadvertently turned off the fuel selector valve on takeoff which resulted in a loss of engine power.

Factual narrative

The pilot was attempting to take off when his handheld radio fell from its holder and came to rest under a control cable. The pilot said that once the climb attitude was established, he reached down and picked up the radio and inadvertently turned off the fuel selector valve. Less than a minute later, the engine lost power. The pilot said he ran the emergency checklist and checked that the fuel was “on”, but he was too low to re-start the engine. The pilot made a forced landing north of the runway on airport property resulting in substantial damage to the fuselage. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

Hierarchical cause / factor breakdown from the FAA bulk avdata database. Each finding tagged C (Cause) or F (Factor).

  • Aircraft-Aircraft systems-Fuel system-Fuel selector/shutoff valve-Unintentional use/operation
  • Personnel issues-Action/decision-Info processing/decision-Identification/recognition-Pilot

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2025_ERA25LA161.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.