NTSB Factual Report

On April 21, 2001, about 1230 mountain daylight time, a Bellanca 7ECA, N53950, piloted by a private pilot, sustained substantial damage on impact with terrain while maneuvering near Kimball, Nebraska. The personal flight was operating under 14 CFR Part 91. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The pilot sustained minor injury and passenger sustained serious injury. No flight plan was on file. The local flight departed from Fort Collins-Loveland Municipal Airport, near Loveland, Colorado, about 1030.

The flight's purpose was to track weather balloons. The pilot stated, "We ... performed two landing type passes over the county roads to locate the balloons relative to the roads. (reading road signs) On the third pass over one of these roads, I did a similar climbing turn then descending turn as I had done (and have done hundreds of times before) however, I did not carry enough power in the climbing turn. On the descending turn portion, our descent rate was high enough that out leveling off point ended up below the ground. At impact we were in an almost 3 pt attitude with full power, but again not in the attitude long enough to arrest descent. We basically had a hard enough landing to push the forward gear up, and cause a resultant belly slide down the road."

NTSB Probable Cause

The pilot not maintaining clearance from the terrain. A factor was that the pilot misjudged the low altitude flight maneuver.