American Champion 7KCAB N5232X

Summary

On 30 July 2006 at about 13:00 local time, a American Champion 7KCAB registered N5232X was involved in an accident near Winter Park, Colorado, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

30 July 2006 at 13:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Winter Park, Colorado, United States

Nearest airport

Na

Coordinates

39.9344, -105.6678

Aircraft

American Champion 7KCAB

Registration

N5232X

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Kremmling → Boulder

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

DEN06FA107

2 people died.

The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed to avoid a stall while maneuvering at a low altitude in mountainous terrain. Factors associated with the accident are the pilot's performance of a low altitude flight maneuver, an inadvertent stall/spin, and the pilot's improper in-flight planning/decision.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

According to family members, the pilot had flown to the vicinity of the continental divide and camped out in preparation for a flight over the divide the next day. On the accident flight, witnesses related that they saw the airplane fly over the divide, into mountainous terrain, circle around the divide, and fly towards a local lake. One witness said the airplane was so low he thought it was going to land on the lake. Another witness saw the airplane enter a bank at low altitude, at which time "the nose turned down and the airplane went straight down like it was hit with a fly swatter." An additional witness reported that the nose went down with the nose facing opposite the original direction of flight. Discussions with other pilots and her former aerobatic instructor, disclosed that the pilot liked to perform aerobatics, and fly at a low altitude over steep terrain. Postaccident inspection of the airplane revealed impact signatures consistent with a loss of control and a stall/spin. No evidence of any preimpact mechanical anomaly was discovered.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.