Aeronca 7AC accident near Lenoir, North Carolina, July 18, 2016
On July 18, 2016 at about 12:30 pm local time, a 1946 Aeronca 7AC, registered N84690, was substantially damaged in an accident during enroute near Lenoir, North Carolina (Lower Creek 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 instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's encounter with instrument meteorological conditions, which resulted in an emergency descent through fog, a runway overrun on a wet grass runway, and a collision with a ditch and vegetation. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's failure to obtain a weather briefing prior to the flight.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 18, 2016 · about 12:30 pm local time
- Place
- Lenoir, North Carolina · Lower Creek · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Aeronca 7AC NO SERIES, built 1946 · all 7ACs on the register
- Registration
- N84690 · registry record · serial 7AC-3402
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot of an airplane not equipped with radios or certified for flight into instrument meteorological conditions reported that during the initial climb, "I was in the fog and knew I had to get back down." The pilot further reported that he navigated the airplane to two other nearby airports with a non-aviation handheld global positioning system, but both airports were fogged in. After flying for about 30 minutes, the pilot reported that he was concerned with the fuel remaining, due to only taking off with about ½ full fuel tanks. He subsequently navigated back to the departure airport and saw the grass runway below him through a hole in the fog. The pilot reported that he "slipped it through" the hole, but his touchdown was about ¾ of the way down the wet grass runway. The pilot attempted to ground loop the airplane within the runway distance remaining, but the airplane continued straight and overran the runway, impacting a ditch and vegetation. The fuselage and both wings sustained substantial damage. The pilot did not report any mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. The pilot reported that he did not obtain a weather briefing prior to flight. He also reported that during preflight he observed "a little fog sneaking up over a nearby hill." The departure airport was not equipped with an automated weather observing station (AWOS), but an airport with an AWOS 10 nautical miles southwest at the time of departure reported the visibility at ¼ statute miles with fog, a cloud ceiling of 100 feet overcast, and a temperature of 68 degrees Fahrenheit (20 Celsius) and dew point of 68 degrees Fahrenheit (20 Celsius). The Federal Aviation Administration Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge (PHAK) in part states: "When the temperature of the air is reduced to the dew point, the air is completely saturated and moisture begins to condense out of the air in the form of fog, dew, frost, clouds, rain, or snow."
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
- Preflight or dispatch event during prior to flight
- VFR encounter with IMC during enroute defining event
- Landing area overshoot during emergency descent
- Loss of control on ground during landing (landing roll)
- Runway excursion during landing (landing roll)
- Collision with terrain or object (not controlled flight into terrain) during landing (landing roll)
The NTSB's findings
- cause Personnel issues › Action/decision › Info processing/decision › Decision making/judgment › Pilot
- cause Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability › Aircraft capability › Landing distance › Capability exceeded
- cause Environmental issues › Conditions/weather/phenomena › Ceiling/visibility/precip › Fog › Effect on operation
- cause Environmental issues › Conditions/weather/phenomena › Ceiling/visibility/precip › Below VFR minima › Effect on operation
- factor Personnel issues › Task performance › Planning/preparation › Weather planning › Pilot
- Environmental issues › Physical environment › Object/animal/substance › (general) › Contributed to outcome
- Environmental issues › Physical environment › Runway/land/takeoff/taxi surface › Wet surface › Ability to respond/compensate
Pilot
- Certificate: airline transport pilot, flight instructor
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 15,750 hours in all; 150 in this make and model; 6.4 in the last 90 days; 0.8 in the last 30 days; 9,000 as pilot in command; 2,000 on instruments
- Last flight review: August 22, 2015
- Medical certificate: Sport Pilot
- Seat: frt
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Last inspection: annual inspection, August 15, 2015
- Maximum gross weight: 1,220 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental A-65 (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: Lenoir Aviation Club INC.
The flight
- Departed from: NC27 Lenoir NC at 11:40 am
- Destination: NC27 Lenoir NC
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 05, 3,200 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Sky: overcast at 100 ft
- Temperature: 68°F (20°C), dew point 68°F (20°C)
- Altimeter: 30.30 inHg
- Observation at 11:40 am from KMRN, 10 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flig | 1 |
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 docket at the NTSB holds the report as a PDF and the investigation's photographs and documents. This site 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 GAA16CA383.