Bellanca 7ECA N53893

Summary

On 15 December 2013 at about 18:30 local time, a Bellanca 7ECA registered N53893, operated by Amelia Reid Aviation LLC, was involved in an accident near San Jose, 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

15 December 2013 at 18:30

Classification

Accident

Location

San Jose, California, United States

Nearest airport

Reid-Hillview of Santa Clara C (RHV)

Coordinates

37.3344, -121.8203

Aircraft

Bellanca 7ECA

Registration

N53893

Category

Airplane

Year built

1975

Engines

1

Operator

Amelia Reid Aviation LLC

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

San Jose → San Jose

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR14CA070

Nobody was injured.

The flight instructor's failure to correct for the student pilot's loss of aircraft control in a timely manner during takeoff. Contributing to the accident was the instructor's inability to see the taxiway sign from the rear seat.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The certified flight instructor (CFI) and student pilot planned to conduct an instructional flight in the tandem-seat, tailwheel-equipped airplane. The student pilot had a total flight experience of 20 hours, all of which was in the accident airplane make and model. He had not soloed yet. The reported wind was calm with 10 miles visibility. The student pilot was seated in the front seat of the tandem-seat airplane, and began the takeoff roll, his first for that day. The takeoff roll was described by the CFI as "a little wiggly," but was in accordance with the CFI's experience and expectations for a student pilot in a tailwheel airplane. Just after liftoff, the airplane drifted off the right side of the 75-foot-wide runway. The CFI did not take over the controls, since he did not perceive any immediate hazards. He then felt the airplane "hit something." He took over the controls, landed the airplane on the remaining runway, and the airplane was taxied to a parking spot. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that the fabric on the aft bottom fuselage was torn, and some of the fuselage structural tubing members were bent or broken. Additional examination revealed that an airport taxiway sign was damaged, and that debris from the sign was scattered on the runway. Witness marks indicated that the airplane had struck the top of that sign. The CFI reported that he never saw the sign during the veeroff, due to his rear-seat location. There were no reports by either pilot of a preimpact mechanical malfunction or failure with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. .

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.