Bellanca 7GCAA N5026Q

Summary

On 19 August 1996 at about 18:00 local time, a Bellanca 7GCAA registered N5026Q was involved in an accident near Hinckley, Illinois, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

19 August 1996 at 18:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Hinckley, Illinois, United States

Coordinates

41.7602, -88.6409

Aircraft

Bellanca 7GCAA

Registration

N5026Q

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CHI96FA301

2 people died.

the instructor pilot exceeded the design stress limits of the aircraft which resulted in the overload failure of the wing. A factor was that the weight and balance of the aircraft was exceeded by the instructor pilot.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The engine tach indicated that the instructor pilot and student pilot had operated the airplane for about 5 minutes before it crashed about 1/2 mile south of the departure end of the runway. A witness reported he saw the airplane already established in a left spiral at 500 to 700 feet AGL, in about a 70-degree nose-down attitude. He reported the wings were intact as it spiraled very fast before the right wing separated straight back from the aircraft. The examination of the right wing strut attach fitting indicated it failed as a result of overstressing loads. The examination of the fore and aft wood spars indicated they had failed as a result of overload forces. The examination of the inboard rear strut attach fitting indicated it had failed in tension overload. The aircraft was 94 pounds over the maximum gross weight.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.