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GAA16CA082

2015-12-13 · Reidsville, North Carolina, United States · None · 1 aircraft · Status: Completed

Airport SIF

Current FAA registration · N1316V

Make / Model
AERONCA 7BCM
Year of manufacture
1947 · 68 years old at event
Engine
CONT MOTOR C85 SERIES (85 hp)
Seats / Engines
2 seats · 1 engine
Last airworthiness date
19560508
ADS-B equipped
Yes — Mode-S A08226

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot's loss of pitch control while maneuvering at low altitude, which resulted in a collision with terrain, a left main landing gear collapse, and runway excursion.

Factual narrative

The pilot reported that he was participating in an ash spreading ceremony and planned to do a low pass over the runway. As the airplane approached 50 feet above ground level and 70 knots, the pilot reported that the bag containing the ashes began to break and he "momentarily" let go of the flight controls. Subsequently, the airplane descended, impacted the runway, and bounced back into the air. During the bounce, the pilot regained control and landed straight ahead, but the left main landing gear collapsed on the touchdown. The airplane veered off the runway to the left and skidded to a stop. A postaccident examination of the airframe revealed substantial damage to the firewall. The pilot reported that there were no mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot reported that he was participating in an ash spreading ceremony and planned to do a low pass over the runway. As the airplane approached 50 feet above ground level and 70 knots, the pilot reported that the bag containing the ashes began to break and he "momentarily" let go of the flight controls. Subsequently, the airplane descended, impacted the runway, and bounced back into the air. During the bounce, the pilot regained control and landed straight ahead, but the left main landing gear collapsed on the touchdown. The airplane veered off the runway to the left and skidded to a stop. A postaccident examination of the airframe revealed substantial damage to the firewall. The pilot reported that there were no 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.

  • C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot - C
  • C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Pitch control-Not attained/maintained - C

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2015_GAA16CA082.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.

Search this event elsewhere

External sources are reported, not agency: signal that something happened, not fact about what happened.

Related research

Matched on aircraft type or causal vocabulary (runway excursion). All research papers