Aeronca 7EC accident near Palmer, Alaska, May 27, 2015
On May 27, 2015 at about 10:00 am local time, a 1946 Aeronca 7EC, registered N84116, was substantially damaged in an accident during landing near Palmer, Alaska (Palmer Airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The instructor's delayed remedial actions, and the student pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed, which resulted in a stall just above the ground and the subsequent hard landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 27, 2015 · about 10:00 am local time
- Place
- Palmer, Alaska · Palmer Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Aeronca 7EC NO SERIES, built 1946 · all 7ECs on the register
- Registration
- N84116 · registry record · serial 7AC-2804
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The student pilot and his instructor were landing in a tailwheel-equipped airplane at night. The student pilot did two full stop landings on the night cross-country flight. During the first landing, the airplane stalled just above the runway, and the front left landing gear made contact with the runway first, resulting in a hard landing. The second landing was a normal, soft touchdown landing. A postflight inspection revealed that a portion of airplane's fuselage, on the left side, sustained substantial damage from the hard landing. The instructor pilot stated that there were no preaccident mechanical anomalies with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
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
What happened, in order
- Hard landing during landing defining event
The NTSB's findings
- cause Personnel issues › Task performance › Use of equip/info › Aircraft control › Student/instructed pilot
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot, flight instructor, commercial pilot, private
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 4,500 hours in all; 200 in this make and model; 30 in the last 90 days; 20 in the last 30 days; 4,400 as pilot in command; 3,750 on instruments
- Last flight review: November 30, 2014
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: rear
- Injury: no injuries
Pilot
- Certificate: student
- Flight time: 50 hours in all; 42 in this make and model; 5 in the last 90 days; 5 in the last 30 days; 10 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: frt
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,581.2 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, May 11, 2015
- Maximum gross weight: 1,450 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental C90-F12 (piston); 6,362 hours total
- Operator: Above Alaska Aviation
The flight
- Departed from: PATK Talkeenta AK
- Destination: PAAQ Palmer AK
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 16, 6,000 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 5,000 ft
- Temperature: 50°F (10°C), dew point 37°F (3°C)
- Altimeter: 30.28 inHg
- Observation at 9:53 am from PAAQ
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 2 |
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.
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.