Bellanca 7ECA accident near Pontiac, Michigan, January 27, 2006
On January 27, 2006 at about 2:26 pm local time, a Bellanca 7ECA, registered N55CW, was destroyed in an accident near Pontiac, Michigan (Oakland-Pontiac airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 2 people were killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The excessive bank angle executed by the flight crew and their failure to maintain airspeed during the turn, which led to the inadvertent stall and subsequent impact with the ground. A factor was the low altitude.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- January 27, 2006 · about 2:26 pm local time
- Place
- Pontiac, Michigan · Oakland-Pontiac · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Bellanca 7ECA · all 7ECAs on the register
- Registration
- N55CW · registry record · serial 1294-79
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The airplane was destroyed when it impacted the ground while maneuvering for landing. After completing a touch and go landing on runway 27L, the pilot requested a full stop landing at which time the control tower operator offered to allow the airplane to land on a parallel runway in the opposite direction. Communications transcripts show that the pilot accepted this offer and was subsequently cleared for landing on runway 09L. The airplane impacted the ground off of the approach end of runway 09L. According to several witnesses the airplane had been performing takeoffs and landings prior to the accident. Witnesses reported that during preceding traffic patterns, the airplane was making steep bank turns that were not necessary for normal flight. Transcripts of communications show that the airplane was cleared for landing a total of 24 times during the 67 minute flight, yielding an average traffic pattern of less than 3 minutes between landings. No anomalies were found with respect to the airplane that could be determined to have existed prior to impact.
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
Flight instructor
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: glider; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: glider
- Flight time: 2,757 hours in all
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: rear
- Injury: fatal
Dual student
- Certificate: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 373 hours in all
- Last flight review: November 1, 2005
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: frt
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,634.5 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, January 1, 2006
- Maximum gross weight: 1,650 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-235-K2C (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: PTK Pontiac MI at 8:17 am
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 09L, 5,000 ft by 100 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 200° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 25,000 ft
- Temperature: 30°F (-1°C), dew point 21°F (-6°C)
- Altimeter: 30.43 inHg
- Observation at 2:35 pm from PTK
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.
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.