According to the owner of the Aeronca 7AC, the two pilots were planning to conduct a local flight near Bowling Green, Missouri, to practice basic agricultural flight maneuvers.
A witness, located in his residence about one-half mile from the accident site, reported that he saw the airplane flying at low altitude from the south to the north. The airplane then made a right turn to the east.
During the turn, the right wing dropped, and the airplane nosed down toward the ground.
The witness lost sight of the airplane behind some trees and located the airplane wreckage in a field adjacent to his residence.
The witness told investigators that he had observed the airplane performing similar flight maneuvers over the nearby fields during the weeks before the accident.
Post-accident examination revealed that the airplane hit terrain in a nose- and left-wing-low attitude. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the fuselage, wings, and empennage. The left wing was separated from the fuselage by rescue personnel to facilitate recovery efforts. The vertical stabilizer and tail were twisted to the left, consistent with a counterclockwise stall/spin at the time of impact.
Both pilots aboard the airplane died in the crash.
Probable Cause: The pilots’ failure to maintain adequate airspeed while maneuvering, which resulted in an exceedance of the airplane’s critical angle of attack and an aerodynamic stall.
To download the final report. Click here. This will trigger a PDF download to your device.
This June 2022 accident report is provided by the National Transportation Safety Board. Published as an educational tool, it is intended to help pilots learn from the misfortunes of others.
AG planes have a very strong fuselage around the cockpit, similar to Nascars, Aeronca’s do not…
As with many high impact car accidents it is quite possible these pilots experienced separation of the aorta from the heart, so tightly adjusted full harness would do no good.
What happened here? Below stall speed? RIP, gents. Question: Is it possible to survive such a crash wearing tightly adjusted full harnesses? Or does the crushing impact of the dashboard cause such gross blunt impact injuries survival is impossible?
Thanks/Regards/J
Hi Mr. Potter;
Ref: “Or does the crushing impact of the dashboard cause such gross blunt impact injuries survival is impossible?”
That’s a great question that I’m sure many of your fans would like the answer to.
Let me do that; but first, just a couple questions for you:
Have you ever personally witnessed a fatal plane crash?
(YouTube videos don’t count.)
Have you ever been to the scene of a fatal plane crash …during the immediate aftermath?
Do you know anyone …friends, colleagues, family, other loved ones…that were killed in a general aviation accident?
If so, you have my absolutely sincerest condolences for your loss.
I’m sure the grieving families of these two young men appreciated yours.
How much graphic detail would you like?
Respectfully,
Tom Curran
Planes do not have dashboards. They have instrument panels and glareshields.