Aeronca S7EC N4349C

Summary

On 21 June 2019 at about 18:00 local time, a Aeronca S7EC registered N4349C was involved in an accident near Jasper, Alabama, 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

21 June 2019 at 18:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Jasper, Alabama, United States

Nearest airport

Walker County-Bevill Field (JFX)

Coordinates

33.9011, -87.3042

Aircraft

Aeronca S7EC

Registration

N4349C

Category

Airplane

Year built

1955

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Hayden → Jasper

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA19LA202

Nobody was injured.

A total loss of engine power due to fuel contamination.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot fueled the airplane to capacity by adding about 5 gallons of aviation fuel to the tank, which had previously been serviced with non-ethanol automotive gasoline. The pilot and passenger then departed on the 25-nautical-mile flight to their destination airport. On final approach for landing, the engine became unresponsive to throttle inputs and subsequently lost total power. The pilot performed a forced landing in a grass field about 600 ft short of the runway, during which the airplane impacted a ditch, resulting in substantial damage. Subsequent maintenance conducted by the pilot’s mechanic revealed that the carburetor bowl contained an unidentified “milky white” substance. Given the lack of other anomalies, it is likely that the fuel contamination resulted in the loss of engine power. The source of the contamination could not be determined based on the available information.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.