Bellanca 7GCAA accident near Belle Plaine, Minnesota, November 19, 1987
On November 19, 1987 at about 4:30 pm local time, a Bellanca 7GCAA, registered N2716Z, was substantially damaged in an accident near Belle Plaine, Minnesota (Belle Plaine airport). It was an instructional 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 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
- November 19, 1987 · about 4:30 pm local time
- Place
- Belle Plaine, Minnesota · Belle Plaine · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Bellanca 7GCAA · all 7GCAAs on the register
- Registration
- N2716Z · registry record · serial 354-78
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
AFTER THE ACFT WAS IN THE TRAFFIC PATTERN, THE INSTRUCTOR (CFI) INITIATED A SIMULATED FORCED LANDING. JUST BEFORE TOUCHDOWN ON FINAL APCH, THE STUDENT (A RATED PVT PLT) ALLOWED THE ACFT TO DRIFT TO THE RIGHT. THE CFI ATTEMPTED A GO-AROUND, BUT WAS DELAYED IN REGAINING CONTROL OF THE ACFT. HE SAID THE STUDENT WAS FIGHTING HIS CONTROL INPUTS, ALTHOUGH HE (THE CFI) HAD PROVIDED INSTRUCTIONS TO 'GET OFF THE CONTROLS.' WHEN THE CFI BANKED THE ACFT TO THE RIGHT TO AVOID A RWY MARKER, THE RIGHT WING CONTACTED THE GROUND & THE ACFT PIVOTED TO THE RIGHT & WAS DAMAGED. THE STUDENT SAID HE DID NOT HEAR THE INSTRUCTION TO RELEASE CONTROLS.
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; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 721 hours in all; 130 in this make and model; 107 in the last 90 days; 543 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rear
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,491 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, October 21, 1987
- Maximum gross weight: 1,650 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: FCM Minneapolis MN at 3:30 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 36, 2,500 ft by 125 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 290° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 25,000 ft
- Temperature: 36°F (2°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
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.