Bellanca 7ECA accident near Flushing, Michigan, August 3, 1988
On August 3, 1988 at about 2:15 pm local time, a Bellanca 7ECA, registered N2956Z, was destroyed in an accident near Flushing, Michigan (Daltons airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed and 1 person was seriously injured. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
PILOT'S PHYSICAL INCAPACITATION DUE TO A CORONARY SEIZURE, WHICH RESULTED IN A LOSS OF AIRCRAFT CONTROL, AND A STALL/SPIN INTO THE GROUND.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 3, 1988 · about 2:15 pm local time
- Place
- Flushing, Michigan · Daltons · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed and 1 person was seriously injured.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Bellanca 7ECA · all 7ECAs on the register
- Registration
- N2956Z · registry record · serial 1245-78
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
SHORTLY AFTER TAKEOFF, AS THE AIRPLANE WAS CLIMBING THRU ABOUT 100 TO 200 FT ABOVE THE GROUND, IT WAS OBSERVED TO PITCH UP, THEN BANK RIGHT & NOSED DOWN IN WHAT WAS ESTIMATED TO BE A 3/4 TURN SPIN BEFORE IMPACTING THE GROUND. NO PREIMPACT MALFUNCTION OR FAILURE OF THE AIRCRAFT STRUCTURE OR ENGINE WAS FOUND. A PATHOLOGICAL EXAM OF THE PILOT REVEALED EXTENSIVE CHEST INJURIES AND AN ACUTE OCCLUSION OF THE LEFT ANTERIOR DESCENDING CORONARY ARTERY. THE CORONER BELIEVED THE PILOT SUFFERED A CORONARY SEIZURE.
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: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: helicopter; instructor: instrument airplane; instructor: instrument helicopter; instrument: airplane; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 8,311 hours in all; 7 in this make and model; 6 in the last 90 days
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,780 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, November 7, 1987; 30 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,650 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-235-C1 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 3DA at 2:15 pm
- Destination: 3DA
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 18, 2,500 ft by 50 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 230° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 3 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 81°F (27°C), dew point 73°F (23°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:53 pm from FNT, 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.
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text 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 CHI88FA188.