Aeronca 7EC accident near Clear Lake, Minnesota, September 25, 2001
On September 25, 2001 at about 3:20 pm local time, a Aeronca 7EC, registered N81910, was substantially damaged in an accident near Clear Lake, Minnesota (Leaders Clear Lake airport). It was a personal 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 pilot not maintaining directional control of the airplane during the takeoff. A factor was the soybean crop.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 25, 2001 · about 3:20 pm local time
- Place
- Clear Lake, Minnesota · Leaders Clear Lake · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Aeronca 7EC · all 7ECs on the register
- Registration
- N81910 · registry record · serial 7AC-533
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The aircraft went off of the left side of the runway during takeoff and nosed over. The pilot said in a written report, "I started the take off on the paved runway, which is 25 feet wide. The airplane veered to the left shortly after the tail came up and although I was using full right rudder, I was not able to straighten the airplane out. I got about a foot high and I was in a soybean field adjacent to runway 36. I attempted to correct the direction but hit first the right wheel and then the left wheel. When the left wheel hit, we ground looped. During the ground loop the airplane flipped over and the left wing was broken. The ground is relatively level at the airport and the 25 foot wide paved runway is located in the center of the 3000 foot by 150 foot runway 18-36." The pilot listed no mechanical malfunctions or failures is his report. No anomalies were found with respect to the airplane that could be associated with a pre-impact condition.
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: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 336 hours in all; 32 in this make and model; 6 in the last 90 days; 1 in the last 30 days; 248 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: November 5, 2000
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,882 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, May 3, 2001; 40 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,190 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental C-90-12 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 8Y6 Clear Lake MN at 3:20 pm
- Destination: Y58 Sleepy Eye MN
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 36, 3,000 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 170° at 3 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 45°F (7°C), dew point 37°F (3°C)
- Altimeter: 30.37 inHg
- Observation at 9:53 am from STC, 7 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 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.