Aeronca S-65-CA accident near Esperance, NY
On July 28, 2001, an Aeronca S-65-CA (airplane) was involved in an accident near Esperance, NY. 2 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- July 28, 2001
- Place
- Esperance, NY
- Aircraft
- Aeronca S-65-CA · Airplane
- Injuries
- 2 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 42.801°N, 74.261°W
- NTSB ID
- 20010802X01585
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHT On July 28, 2001, at 1842 eastern daylight time, an Aeronca S-65-CA "Chief", N1049Y, was destroyed during collision with wires and terrain in low-level cruise flight in Esperance, New York. The certificated private pilot/owner and passenger sustained fatal injuries. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed and no flight plan was filed for the local personal flight conducted under 14 CFR Part 91. According to the New York State Police, the flight departed the pilot/owner's private grass strip in Esperance, about 1835, for the local flight. The accident site was 1 mile from the pilot/owner's private strip. The Chief of the local fire department, who was a former military aircraft mechanic, provided a written statement and an interview. He said he heard an airplane approach his house at low altitude, and ran outside to investigate, because a red plane had been flying low over his house and the Schoharie Creek in the weeks before the accident. He said the airplane was "super-low" as it passed over his house and the treetops at the edge of a cliff above Schoharie Creek. The Chief said the airplane's flight path was perpendicular to the creek as it passed over his house and approached the edge of the cliff. At the cliff's edge, the engine power reduced, and the airplane entered a steep, descending, left-hand turn into the creek bed. With a model of an airplane in his hand, the Chief demonstrated a descending left-hand turn at about a 45-degree angle of bank. According to the Chief, there was a smooth increase in engine power after the airplane dropped below th
Probable cause
The pilot's inadequate decision and his failure to maintain obstacle clearance. Contributing factors are a transmission wire and the pilot's intentional low pass.
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Browse: New York · Aeronca aircraft
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
