Aeronca 7AC N81624

Summary

On 23 September 2020 at about 15:31 local time, a Aeronca 7AC registered N81624 was involved in an accident near St. Clairsville, Ohio, United States. One person was 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

23 September 2020 at 15:31

Classification

Accident

Location

St. Clairsville, Ohio, United States

Coordinates

40.0120, -80.9118

Aircraft

Aeronca 7AC

Registration

N81624

Category

Airplane

Year built

1945

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Toussant → Moundsville

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN20LA422

Nobody was injured.

The pilots improper fuel planning that resulted in a total loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that she was 12 miles from her planned refueling destination when the airplane’s engine lost power. She performed a forced landing to a grass field during which the airplane’s main landing gear was damaged. Further inspection revealed that the airplane sustained substantial damage to forward fuselage beneath the cabin area. A Federal Aviation Administration inspector who traveled to the accident scene reported that the airplane’s fuel tank was empty. There were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot reported that she departed with 13 gallons of fuel and had calculated the fuel burn for that leg of flight at 9.4 gallons of fuel for a 2 hour and 5 minute flight.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.