Aeronca 7EC N7410B

Summary

On 25 May 2022 at about 20:00 local time, a Aeronca 7EC registered N7410B was involved in an accident near Putnam Valley, New York, 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

25 May 2022 at 20:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Putnam Valley, New York, United States

Coordinates

43.7996, -73.3996

Aircraft

Aeronca 7EC

Registration

N7410B

Category

Airplane

Year built

1958

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Ferry

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Saratoga Springs → Alburg

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA22LA242

Nobody was injured.

A total loss of engine power during cruise flight due to fuel starvation resulting from obstructed forward and aft vent outlets in the left fuel tank.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot had just purchased the airplane and was flying it to a maintenance facility in a neighboring state for an annual inspection. During the flight, the engine started to backfire and lose power. The pilot attempted remedial action to restore engine power; however, he was unable to regain power to the engine, and elected to execute a forced landing to a field. During the forced landing the airplane impacted a power line. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed no anomalies with the engine that would have precluded normal operation. About 9 gallons of fuel were drained from the left tank and about 1.5 gallons were drained from the right tank, although the two fuel tanks fed a common fuel manifold above the fuel shutoff valve. When the left and right fuel tanks were pressurized, the right wing forward and aft vent outlets were free from obstruction; however, the right tank vent interconnect was obstructed and the left tank forward and aft outlets were completely obstructed. It is likely that the engine was starved of fuel due to the fuel vent obstructions, which resulted in a restriction of fuel flow.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.