Bellanca 7GCBC accident near Pierre, South Dakota, September 2, 2001
On September 2, 2001 at about 5:15 pm local time, a Bellanca 7GCBC, registered N4215Y, was substantially damaged in an accident near Pierre, South Dakota (Pierre Regional 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).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot not maintaining directional control of the airplane during landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made September 29, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 2, 2001 · about 5:15 pm local time
- Place
- Pierre, South Dakota · Pierre Regional · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Bellanca 7GCBC · all 7GCBCs on the register
- Registration
- N4215Y · registry record · serial 968-77
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The airplane was damaged when it ground looped while landing. In his written statement, the pilot said that while performing a practice short field landing, a gust of wind, "...picked aircraft from runway - placing it about a 30 [degree] angle to [the] direction of travel - with addition of power and control inputs, I was not able to correct before returning to runway. Resultant ground loop damaged landing gear and wing...." The weather reporting station located at the accident airport recorded the wind at 1153 as variable direction at 4 knots. No gusts were listed on the 1153 report.
The NTSB's narratives can run to many pages; this is the opening. Read the full report at the NTSB.
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database and is rewritten in plain English only where the NTSB used codes; the probable cause and narrative are the NTSB's own words. This site 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 CHI01LA306.