Bellanca 7GCAA accident near Windsor, Virginia, July 24, 1988
On July 24, 1988 at about 10:15 pm local time, a Bellanca 7GCAA, registered N31253, was substantially damaged in an accident near Windsor, Virginia (Garner airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind 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 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
- July 24, 1988 · about 10:15 pm local time
- Place
- Windsor, Virginia · Garner · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Bellanca 7GCAA · all 7GCAAs on the register
- Registration
- N31253 · no longer on the register · serial 25072
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
WHILE ON LONG FINAL AFTER A GLIDER TOW FLIGHT THE ENG LOST POWER. A FORCED LANDING WAS MADE IN AN OPEN FIELD AND WHEN THE PLT APPLIED BRAKES, THE ACFT NOSED OVER. POST ACCIDENT EXAM OF THE ACFT REVEALED 1 GALLON OF FUEL REMAINED. THE PLT REPORTED THAT HE INITIATED THE FLT WITH 3 GALLONS OF FUEL ON BOARD. THE ACFT OPERATOR STATED IT WAS STANDARD PROCEDURE FOR THE TOW ACFT TO TAKEOFF WITH THE MINIMUM AMOUNT OF FUEL ON BOARD TO COMPLETE THE FLIGHT.
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, military
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: glider; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: glider
- Flight time: 1,900 hours in all; 170 in this make and model; 82 in the last 90 days; 12 in the last 30 days; 1,810 as pilot in command; 970 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (expired)
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,664 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, December 9, 1987
- Maximum gross weight: 1,650 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-A2B (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 3VA8 Windsor VA at 10:00 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 130° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 6 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 3,500 ft
- Temperature: 84°F (29°C), dew point 70°F (21°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 9:50 pm from ORF, 23 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.
Other NTSB records under N31253 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.