Bellanca 7GCAA N5042D

Summary

On 2 September 2001 at about 16:13 local time, a Bellanca 7GCAA registered N5042D was involved in an accident near Bridgeport, California, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

2 September 2001 at 16:13

Classification

Accident

Location

Bridgeport, California, United States

Nearest airport

Bryant Field (O57)

Coordinates

38.2691, -119.3293

Aircraft

Bellanca 7GCAA

Registration

N5042D

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Minden → Bridgeport

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX01LA301

Nobody was injured.

The failure of the pilot to maintain directional control of the tail wheel equipped aircraft during landing roll which resulted in a ground loop.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that he landed the airplane on runway 16 (4,329 feet long x 60 feet wide). The tail of the aircraft bounced violently and the airplane veered to the left. He applied right rudder and some power; however, the airplane drifted off the east edge of the runway and ground looped when the right main landing gear entered dense brush. The right landing gear was torn off and the right-hand wing contacted the ground during the ensuing ground loop. In his report to the Safety Board, in the section "Mechanical Malfunction Failure," the pilot checked "no." He also reported the wind was calm.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.