Bellanca 8GCBC accident near Wasilla, Alaska, December 11, 1999
On December 11, 1999 at about 5:00 pm local time, a Bellanca 8GCBC, registered N53910, was substantially damaged in an accident near Wasilla, Alaska (Grand'S airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's failure to remove frost from the wing surface of the airplane. A factor in the accident was the pilot's delay in aborting the takeoff run.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 11, 1999 · about 5:00 pm local time
- Place
- Wasilla, Alaska · Grand'S · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Bellanca 8GCBC · all 8GCBCs on the register
- Registration
- N53910 · no longer on the register · serial 192-76
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The commercial certificated pilot was departing his private airstrip toward the north. The airstrip, oriented north/south, is about 1,200 feet long, and 125 feet wide. The airstrip surface was packed snow. The pilot said the wings of the airplane were coated with frost. He began a takeoff run, but the airplane did not lift off the ground. He then aborted the takeoff. The airplane went off the end of the airstrip and into a ditch. The airplane received damage to the landing gear, cowling, propeller, and the right wing lift strut.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 3,000 hours in all; 560 in this make and model; 10 in the last 90 days; 3 in the last 30 days; 3,000 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,624 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, May 16, 1999; 60 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,150 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-360 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 36, 1,200 ft by 125 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 30 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 10,000 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 10°F (-12°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Other NTSB records under N53910 the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.