Aeronca 7AC N83863 accident near Taunton, Massachusetts

Probable cause

The pilot/owner’s inadequate preflight inspection and inadequate pretakeoff check of the flight controls, which resulted in a takeoff with the rudder gust lock installed. Contributing to the accident was the pilot-rated passenger’s failure to detect that the rudder gust lock was installed.

NTSB analysis

The pilot/owner purchased the airplane about 1 month before the accident and was flying with a pilot-rated passenger who owned a similar model airplane. A witness reported that the airplane accelerated and climbed normally to an altitude of about 50 to 100 feet above the ground. It then entered a slow right turn and began to descend until it impacted the ground and immediately became engulfed in fire. The airplane came to rest in a ditch that was located about 1,100 feet from the beginning of the departure runway and 250 feet to the right of the runway center line. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed that a rudder gust lock was installed over the rudder and vertical stabilizer, which prevented movement of the rudder. The control lock was similar to a rudder gust lock that was observed installed on the passenger's airplane. No other discrepancies that would have precluded normal operation of the airplane were noted. While it could not be determined who was at the controls of the airplane during the accident flight, both pilots should have noted the installation of the rudder gust lock either during a preflight inspection or during a pretakeoff check of the flight controls.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for ERA13FA372 for the full record.