NTSB Factual Report

On September 25, 2001, at 1020 central daylight time, an Aeronca 7EC, N81910, piloted by a private pilot, sustained substantial damage during takeoff at the Leaders Clear Lake Airport, Clear Lake, Minnesota. The aircraft departed the west side of runway 36 (3,000 feet by 150 feet, asphalt/turf) and nosed over. The 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight was on a visual flight rules flight plan and was operating in visual meteorological conditions. The pilot and one passenger reported no injuries. The flight was originating at the time of the accident and was bound for the Sleepy Eye Municipal Airport, Sleepy Eye, Minnesota.

The pilot said in a written report, "I started the take off on the paved runway, which is 25 feet wide. The airplane veered to the left shortly after the tail came up and although I was using full right rudder, I was not able to straighten the airplane out. I got about a foot high and I was in a soybean field adjacent to runway 36. I attempted to correct the direction but hit first the right wheel and then the left wheel. When the left wheel hit, we ground looped. During the ground loop the airplane flipped over and the left wing was broken. The ground is relatively level at the airport and the 25 foot wide paved runway is located in the center of the 3000 foot by 150 foot runway 18-36." The pilot listed no mechanical malfunctions or failures is his report.

No anomalies were found with respect to the airplane that could be associated with a pre-impact condition.

NTSB Probable Cause

The pilot not maintaining directional control of the airplane during the takeoff. A factor was the soybean crop.