Bellanca 7GCBC accident near Wellington, TX
On January 21, 2017, a Bellanca 7GCBC (airplane) was involved in an accident near Wellington, TX. 2 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- January 21, 2017
- Place
- Wellington, TX
- Aircraft
- Bellanca 7GCBC · Airplane
- Injuries
- 2 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 34.850°N, 100.210°W
- NTSB ID
- 20170122X64422
Official records · CEN17FA080
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn January 21, 2017, at 1420 central standard time, a Bellanca 7GCBC, N91Z, descended and impacted terrain while maneuvering after takeoff from the Marian Airpark (F06), Wellington, Texas. The commercial pilot and the passenger were fatally injured, and the airplane was destroyed. The airplane was owned by Boedeker Flying Service, Inc., of Childress, Texas, and operated by the pilot under Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed. The local flight was originating at the time of the accident. The pilot's wife stated that her husband had taken his mother for a 15- to 20-minute flight before the accident flight. The purpose of the accident flight was to take his cousin flying. During takeoff, the airplane stayed in "ground effect for a little while" before it began climbing. The airplane "pitched hard over to the left," and it "looked like a stall." The pilot's wife stated that she was unable to hear engine noise because she was inside a car at the end of the runway during the accident flight. A witness, who had been driving by the airport, stopped and took a series of photos of the airplane. The first photos taken by the witness show the airplane near or past the departure end of the runway at a height above the ground of about one wingspan of the airplane, initially in about a 20°-right-bank turn and then in a right climbing turn. The next photos show the airplane at an altitude of about 100 to 150 ft in a left turn with a bank angle that increased to about 80°
Probable cause
The pilot's improper decision to perform a steep turn at low altitude, which resulted in exceedance of the airplane's critical angle of attack and an aerodynamic stall.
More accidents in TX
- Kubicek BB85, Jul 30, 2016
- Robertson C-414, Jul 29, 1982
- Textron Aviation B-300, Jun 30, 2019
- Beech B100, Nov 26, 1983
- Consolidated-Vultee PBY-6A, Oct 13, 1984
Browse: Texas · Bellanca 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.
