Champion AERONCA 7GC accident near Columbia, Missouri, June 19, 1984
On June 19, 1984, a Champion AERONCA 7GC, registered N4889E, was substantially damaged in an accident near Columbia, Missouri. It was an instructional 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 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
- June 19, 1984
- Place
- Columbia, Missouri · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Champion AERONCA 7GC AERONCA 7G · all AERONCA 7GCs on the register
- Registration
- N4889E · no longer on the register · serial 7GC-63
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE STUDENT PLT WAS PRACTICING EMERGENCY PROCEDURES DURING A SOLO FLT. DURING A SIMULATED FORCED LANDING APCH TO A FIELD OF TALL FESCUE GRASS, HE DESCENDED TOO LOW & THE WHEELS ENCOUNTERED THE GRASS WHICH WAS 3 TO 4 FT TALL. THE GRASS SLOWED THE ACFT, IT TOUCHED DOWN & ROLLED ABOUT 30 YARDS, THEN NOSED OVER.
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: student
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 100 hours in all; 100 in this make and model; 62 in the last 90 days; 54 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,760 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, October 10, 1983; 100 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,650 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-290-D2B (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: Columbia MO at 11:30 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 350° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 25,000 ft
- Temperature: 81°F (27°C), dew point 70°F (21°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 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.
Other NTSB records under N4889E the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.