Champion 7FC N9857B

Summary

On 25 August 2001 at about 17:28 local time, a Champion 7FC registered N9857B was involved in an accident near Reno, Nevada, United States. 2 people were on board and nobody was injured. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

25 August 2001 at 17:28

Classification

Accident

Location

Reno, Nevada, United States

Nearest airport

Reno/Stead (4SD)

Coordinates

39.5390, -119.7505

Aircraft

Champion 7FC

Registration

N9857B

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Reno → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX01LA293

Nobody was injured.

The failure of the pilot to maintain directional control during the landing roll.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

The aircraft had been converted from a tricycle landing gear configuration to a tail wheel configuration. The accident occurred as the pilot performed a wheel landing and, although the wind was reported calm, he thought there was a gust because the aircraft veered to the left, then reversed to the right, and ground looped. The main landing gear collapsed and the left wing contacted the runway. The pilot reported that on the previous landing the wind sock was "dead calm"; however, during the accident landing the wind sock showed a left crosswind. At the nearest weather reporting point, 11 miles distant, the surface wind speed was reported to have been 3 knots.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.