Bellanca 7GCBC accident near Harlen, Oregon, April 12, 1986
On April 12, 1986, a Bellanca 7GCBC, registered N88415, was destroyed in an accident near Harlen, Oregon. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind 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
- April 12, 1986
- Place
- Harlen, Oregon · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Bellanca 7GCBC · all 7GCBCs on the register
- Registration
- N88415 · no longer on the register · serial 78175
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE ACFT CONTACTED TREES AND DESCENDED TO GROUND IMPACT DURING AN ATTEMPTED GO-AROUND. THE GO-AROUND WAS ATTEMPTED AFTER THE PLT OVER SHOT THE FARM FIELD IN WHICH HE HAD INTENDED TO LAND.
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; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 315 hours in all; 209 in this make and model; 143 in the last 90 days; 242 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,110 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, February 8, 1986; 159 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,650 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-A2D (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: HIO Hillsboro OR at 10:00 pm
- Destination: CVO Corvallis OR
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 270° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 8 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 1,700 ft; not recorded at 1,700 ft
- Temperature: 48°F (9°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
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 N88415 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.