Bellanca 7KCAB accident near Egg Harbor Twsp, New Jersey, July 18, 1988
On July 18, 1988 at about 5:30 pm local time, a Bellanca 7KCAB, registered N86628, was destroyed in an accident near Egg Harbor Twsp, New Jersey (Nordheim Flying "K" Arpk airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. 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
- July 18, 1988 · about 5:30 pm local time
- Place
- Egg Harbor Twsp, New Jersey · Nordheim Flying "K" Arpk
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Bellanca 7KCAB · all 7KCABs on the register
- Registration
- N86628 · no longer on the register · serial 426-74
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE BELLANCA WAS MANEUVERING AND HAD HOOKED UP WITH A BANNER, WHEN CONTROL WAS LOST AND IT IMPACTED THE GROUND. WITNESSES SAID THE AIRCRAFT WAS AT FULL POWER WHEN IT WENT INTO A NOSE HIGH ATTITUDE AND STALLED TO THE RIGHT. AFTER IMPACT WITH THE GROUND THE AIRCRAFT BURST INTO FLAMES. WITNESSES STATED THAT THE AIRCRAFT SEEMED TO BE SLOWER THAN USUAL AS THE BANNER WAS PICKED UP. THE OPERATOR REPORTED THAT THE BANNER WAS AT THE MAXIMUM WEIGHT/LENGTH FOR THIS 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
Pilot
- Certificate: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,013 hours in all; 123 in the last 90 days; 34 in the last 30 days; 819 as pilot in command; 112 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,092 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, May 6, 1988; 136 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,650 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming IO-320-E2B (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 30, 1,800 ft by 160 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 120° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 25,000 ft
- Temperature: 88°F (31°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 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.
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.