Pilot Debrief

Aeronca 7AC near Green Bay, WI — 2019-10-17

Final reportCEN20FA008
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Date
2019-10-17
Location
Green Bay, WI, USA
Airport
WI78
Aircraft
Aeronca 7AC
Registration
N82308
Category
Airplane
Highest injury
Fatal
Fatalities
1
Phase of flight
Approach

Probable cause

The pilot’s low final approach path and his failure to see and avoid a truck traveling on a roadway, which resulted in a collision with the truck.

NTSB narrative

The private pilot was on short final approach for landing to the grass runway. The south end of the runway was bordered by an east-west oriented road; witnesses on this road and dashboard camera video from another vehicle confirmed that the airplane was flying about 5 ft above the ground when it collided with the front left side of a westbound truck. The airplane became lodged on top of the truck and they continued off the right side of the road, through a ditch, and came to rest in a residential front yard. The pilot and driver were both fatally injured during the accident sequence. A postaccident examination of the airplane did not reveal any mechanical malfunctions or anomalies that would have precluded normal operation. There were several propeller slash marks on the front left side of the truck, consistent with the propeller rotating during the collision. There was no evidence of tire skid marks on the road and none of the witnesses reported any evasive maneuvers by the airplane; therefore, it is likely that neither the pilot nor the driver was aware of the impending collision. Additionally, there was no roadway signage warning of low-flying aircraft.

Analysis

Primary failure mode
Human factors
First missed decision gate
Pilot could have chosen to land on the dry part of the runway instead of the wet turf.

NTSB coding

Evidence available

  • Video
  • Photos
  • 11 docket documents
View NTSB final reportView NTSB docket

Docket documents11

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