Aeronca 7AC N1648E

Summary

On 7 March 2003 at about 23:45 local time, a Aeronca 7AC registered N1648E was involved in an accident near Gordo, Alabama, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. No probable cause statement is available for this record.

Date

7 March 2003 at 23:45

Classification

Accident

Location

Gordo, Alabama, United States

Coordinates

33.3889, -88.0056

Aircraft

Aeronca 7AC

Registration

N1648E

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Tuscaloosa → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ATL03LA059

Nobody was injured.

The NTSB has not published a probable cause for this record. No probable cause statement is present in the source data.

Nothing about the cause is stated here that is not in the source record.

Read the full NTSB narrative

During cruise flight a "bump" was felt under the pilot's seat, then the airplane pitched up erratically and became difficult to control. The pilot selected an open field and executed an emergency landing. The airplane came to rest in a pond. The pilot reported that the crankshaft sheared behind the propeller flange and in front of the crankcase. Examination of the airplane on site revealed that one of the propeller blades separated at the flange, there was substantial damage to the nose bowl cowling due to the airplane nosing over into the pond. The firewall was bent slightly rearward at the base and there was also water damage to the wing spar. Further examination of the partial crankshaft recovered, revealed that the separation had occurred between the oil slinger and the propeller mounting flanges leaving a fracture face. The fracture face displayed arced crack arrest marks, consistent with fatigue propagation. The arcing of the crack arrest marks indicated that the fatigue origin was located further forward, towards the propeller-mounting flange on the unrecovered portion of the crankshaft.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.