Bellanca 7GCBC accident near Fairbanks, Alaska, September 19, 1983
On September 19, 1983 at about 9:30 pm local time, a Bellanca 7GCBC, registered N68564, was substantially damaged in an accident near Fairbanks, Alaska. 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 NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 19, 1983 · about 9:30 pm local time
- Place
- Fairbanks, Alaska · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Bellanca 7GCBC · all 7GCBCs on the register
- Registration
- N68564 · registry record · serial 394-72
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE ACFT COLLIDED WITH A SAND BAR AND NOSED OVER WHILE STEP TAXIING ON A RIVER DURING A TRAINING FLT. THE CFI SAID HE COULD NOT SEE CLEARLY FROM THE REAR SEAT AND WAS NOT AWARE OF THE SAND BAR UNTIL IT WAS STRUCK. HE DID NOT FILE AN ACCIDENT REPORT. THE OPERATOR REPORTED THAT, IN HIS OPINION, THE ACCIDENT WOULD NOT HAVE OCCURRED IF THE STUDENT HAD NOTREDUCED POWER WHEN HE OBSERVED THE SANDBAR. THE STUDENT STATED THAT HE NEVER SAW THE SANDBAR AND ONLY REDUCED POWER AFTER THE ACFT RAN AGROUND.
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: airline transport pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 3,402 hours in all; 39 in this make and model; 180 in the last 90 days; 3,282 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rear
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 609 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, May 3, 1983; 98 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,800 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-A2B (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: MTF Fairbanks
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Sky: scat at 4,500 ft
- Temperature: 45°F (7°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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.
Other NTSB records under N68564 the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number ANC83FA178.