Bellanca 7ECA accident near Hopkinsville, Kentucky, August 28, 2023
On August 28, 2023 at about 6:00 pm local time, a 1975 Bellanca 7ECA, registered N8679V, was substantially damaged in an accident during initial climb near Hopkinsville, Kentucky (Hopkinsville-Christian County 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).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot’s inadvertent encounter with helicopter wake turbulence during initial climb, which resulted in a loss of airplane control.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 28, 2023 · about 6:00 pm local time
- Place
- Hopkinsville, Kentucky · Hopkinsville-Christian County · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Bellanca 7ECA, built 1975 · all 7ECAs on the register
- Registration
- N8679V · no longer on the register · serial 1093-75
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot stated that, before departing in his tailwheel-equipped airplane, a U.S. Army CH-47 heavy-lift helicopter departed and proceeded upwind. When the helicopter was established on the downwind leg of the traffic pattern, the pilot initiated his takeoff. At 40 ft above ground level in the initial climb, the airplane “hit the helicopter’s rotor wash” which rolled the airplane “about 135 degrees to its right.” The pilot was able to level the wings before the airplane touched down in low brush to the right of the runway and came to rest near the airport boundary fence. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the main landing gear support structure and the pilot deplaned uninjured. The pilot reported there were no mechanical malfunctions or anomalies with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
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
What happened, in order
- Aircraft wake turb encounter during initial climb defining event
The NTSB's findings
- Environmental issues › Conditions/weather/phenomena › Turbulence › Wake turbulence › Contributed to outcome
- Personnel issues › Action/decision › Info processing/decision › Identification/recognition › Pilot
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot, flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instructor: powered-lift; instrument: airplane; instrument: powered-lift; rotorcraft: powered-lift
- Flight time: 2,812 hours in all; 36 in this make and model; 117 in the last 90 days; 45 in the last 30 days; 1,823 as pilot in command; 969.3 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: frt
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,506 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, August 24, 2022; 42 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,500 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-235-C1 (piston); 3,506 hours total
The flight
- Destination: UCY Union City TN
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 08, 5,505 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 010° at 8 knots, gusting 14
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: a few clouds at 2,600 ft
- Temperature: 79°F (26°C), dew point 70°F (21°C)
- Altimeter: 29.94 inHg
- Observation at 11:15 am from KHVC
Weather report (METAR): METAR KHVC 281615Z AUTO 01008G14KT 10SM FEW026 26/21 A2994 RMK AO2=
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
5 documents, released by the NTSB on December 21, 2023. View them here, or download them; the NTSB redacts some personal details before release, and this site shows the NTSB's own titles rather than its file names.
| # | Document | What it is | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pilot/operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 | PDF, 11 pages | View Download |
| 2 | Pilot's Statement | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
| 3 | Witness Statement | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
| 4 | Photo Array | PDF, 2 pages | View Download |
| 5 | Release of Aircraft Wreckage, NTSB Form 6120.15 | PDF, 2 pages | View Download |
The same docket at the NTSB · documents without a copy here are fetched from the NTSB when you open them.
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.