Bellanca 8GCBC accident near Berlin, Maryland, September 10, 1983
On September 10, 1983 at about 3:30 pm local time, a Bellanca 8GCBC, registered N90916, was destroyed in an accident near Berlin, Maryland. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. 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 10, 1983 · about 3:30 pm local time
- Place
- Berlin, Maryland · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Bellanca 8GCBC · all 8GCBCs on the register
- Registration
- N90916 · no longer on the register · serial 421-73
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE ACFT CRASHED INTO TREES AFTER THE ACFTS LANDING GEAR BECAME ENTANGLED IN THE BANNERS TOW BRIDLE DURING AN ATTEMPTED BANNER PICK-UP. ACCORDING TO ONE WITNESS WHO WAS A MEMBER OF THE BANNER CREW ON THE FIELD, THE ACFT CAME IN TOO LOW AND CAUGHT THE LEFT LANDING GEAR IN THE BRIDLE. THE PILOT BEGAN TRYING TO SHAKE THE BRIDLE OFF THE WHEEL. THE ACFT CLEARED THE POWER LINES AND DIPPED ITS LEFT WING. THIS RELEASED THE BANNER BUT THE RIGHT WING DIPPED AND THE PLANE DISAPPEARED IN THE TREES. ANOTHER WITNESS, A PLT IN ANOTHER BANNER TOW ACFT AT 400 FT AGL SAID THE WINGS BANKED LEFT AND RIGHT TWICEBEFORE THE ACFT SPUN TO THE RIGHT INTO THE TREES.
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: single-engine land
- Flight time: 1,500 hours in all; 900 in this make and model; 190 in the last 90 days; 900 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,800 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, June 14, 1983; 200 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,800 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-A2B (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 240° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 6 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 2,500 ft
- Temperature: 84°F (29°C), dew point 70°F (21°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 1:54 pm from SBY, 13 miles away
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.
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.