The National Transportation Safety Board did not travel to the scene of this accident.
Additional Participating Entity:
Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Location: Monongahela, Pennsylvania
Accident Number: ERA22LA244
Date and Time: May 27, 2022, 19:00 Local
Registration: N84583
Aircraft: Aeronca 7AC
Injuries: 1 Serious
Flight Conducted Under: Part 91: General aviation - Personal
On May 27, 2022, about 1900 eastern daylight time, an Aeronca 7AC, N84583, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Monongahela, Pennsylvania. The pilot was seriously injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspector who responded to the accident site, witnesses reported that the airplane departed Rostraver Airport (FWQ), Monongahela, Pennsylvania, and was practicing touch and go landing maneuvers. After takeoff, the airplane pitched up “sharply, then went straight down.”
Examination of the airplane revealed that the outboard leading edges of the wings were impact damaged and both wings remained attached to the fuselage. The propeller remained attached to the engine; however, one propeller blade was splintered along the entire span and the other blade was splintered about half its span.
The airplane was retained for further examination.
Aircraft and Owner/Operator Information
Aircraft Make: Aeronca
Registration: N84583
Model/Series: 7AC
Aircraft Category: Airplane
Amateur Built:
Operator: On file
Operating Certificate(s) Held: None
Operator Designator Code:
Meteorological Information and Flight Plan
Conditions at Accident Site: VMC
Condition of Light: Day
Observation Facility, Elevation: AFJ,1185 ft msl
Observation Time: 16:56 Local
Distance from Accident Site: 22 Nautical Miles
Temperature/Dew Point: 18°C /14°C
Lowest Cloud Condition: Few / 9500 ft AGL
Wind Speed/Gusts, Direction: 7 knots / , 210°
Lowest Ceiling: None
Visibility: 10 miles
Altimeter Setting: 29.8 inches Hg
Type of Flight Plan Filed: None
Departure Point: Monongahela, PA
Destination: Monongahela, PA
Wreckage and Impact Information
Crew Injuries: 1 Serious
Aircraft Damage: Substantial
Passenger Injuries: N/A
Aircraft Fire: None
Ground Injuries: N/A
Aircraft Explosion: None
Total Injuries: 1 Serious
Latitude, Longitude: 40.218762,-79.819748 (est)
Aircraft crashed in a wooded area for unknown reasons.
Date: 27-MAY-22
Time: 23:02:00Z
Regis#: N84583
Aircraft Make: AERONCA
Aircraft Model: 7AC
Event Type: ACCIDENT
Highest Injury: SERIOUS
Aircraft Missing: No
Damage: UNKNOWN
Activity: PERSONAL
Flight Phase: EN ROUTE (ENR)
Operation: 91
City: MONONGAHELA
State: PENNSYLVANIA
Carlos Cabral, left, and Harry Bochter
Harry Bochter and Jacqueline Cabral
Harry Bochter
Harry Bochter
Anna Marie and Harry Bochter
Carlos Cabral helps push the Aeronca into its hangar.
November 2021 - With a successful swing of a wooden propeller, Harry Bochter was ready to celebrate.
For his 75th birthday, he decided to pilot an airplane that is older than he is, but just barely.
“It was taken off the assembly line in May 1946. And I was taken off the assembly line in October 1946,” he joked after landing the two-seat Aeronca Champion on the grass near his home-away-from-home hangar at Finleyville Airport.
A look inside the hangar reveals why flying represents the best birthday option for Bochter. The front is full of tools and equipment for tasks such as fabricating parts – he has built his own plane – and his office in the back essentially serves as an aviation reference library, one that got its start when he was a youngster.
“My aunt had a candy store in Burgettstown, and she had magazines. There was an Air Progress,” he said. “I stared at that thing, and I just fell in love with airplanes. At the end of my stay with her, she said, ‘Do you want to take that magazine with you?’ I said, ‘yeah,’ and I still have it today.”
Bochter, who lives in Pleasant Hills, went on to join the Experimental Aircraft Association as a junior member when he was about 14. After serving in the U.S. Navy, he decided to take his interest to the next level by making a significant purchase.
“My first airplane was a 1941 Aeronca Defender. It was a World War II surplus airplane that I bought in '68, and I had that for a few years. Back then, it was just another old airplane. Now it’s a ‘warbird,’” he said, referring to vintage military aircraft that fetch premium prices.
Aeronca – that’s shorthand for Aeronautical Corp. of America – holds a prominent place in aviation history as the first successful light airplane, designed by pioneering aviator Jean A. Roche (1894-1981), who made his initial flight just eight years after the Wright Brothers.
The yellow-and-orange ’46 Aeronca that Bochter piloted actually belongs to Peters Township residents Carlos and Jacqueline Cabral, who operate Vortex Helicopter Services in hangars near his.
“The reason I’m here is because of Harry,” Carlos said. “My son and I came to visit the airport, and Harry was in his hangar working on his airplane. He was just very kind and started telling us about the airplane that he built, which is now in the helicopter’s hangar. He gave my son a wooden propeller, which is still in his bedroom, up on the wall.”
He also introduced Cabral to Gary Gries, the late aviation enthusiast who sold him the Aeronca. Bochter often works on keeping it in good condition, his penchant for producing spare parts helping to cut down on costs.
“It has a few blemishes, but it flies well,” Cabral said. “The more scratches and dings it has on it, the more it’s been used.”
Bochter used it on his birthday to circle not all that far above Finleyville Airport as his spouse of 44 years, Anna Marie, joined Cabral in chronicling the adventure on their smartphones. Harry acknowledged her role in his ability to pursue his avocation.
“It helps to have an understanding wife in all this,” he said.
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