Beechcraft 58 N5647C

Summary

On 22 April 2007 at about 18:51 local time, a Beechcraft 58 registered N5647C, operated by Jesse R. Champion, was involved in an accident near Hamilton, Georgia, United States. 5 people were on board and 5 died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

22 April 2007 at 18:51

Classification

Accident

Location

Hamilton, Georgia, United States

Coordinates

32.7103, -84.9472

Aircraft

Beechcraft 58

Registration

N5647C

Category

Airplane

Engines

2

Operator

Jesse R. Champion

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Gulf Shores → Griffin

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ATL07FA077

5 people died.

The pilot's exceeding the design stress limits of the airplane while performing aerobatics in a nonaerobatic airplane, which resulted in an in-flight overload failure of the airframe. A factor in the accident was the pilot's decision to perform aerobatics.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The accident pilot had recently returned from an airshow, and had shared with his pilot associates that he thought he could roll his personal airplane. He had previously attempted to roll the airplane, but a pilot-rated passenger stopped the accident pilot from completing the aerobatic roll. On the accident flight, a ground witness, who is also a pilot, heard the accident airplane, and thought it sounded like the pilot was doing aerobatic maneuvers. He heard the engine noise continue to increase, and saw the airplane descending very fast, in a 45 to 60 degree nose down attitude. The witness then saw a portion of the airplane break away prior to impact. Postaccident inspection of the airplane by the NTSB investigator-in-charge and the NTSB Materials Laboratory, disclosed evidence of pilot-induced overload failures of the tail and wings. The accident pilot's airplane was not designed or approved for aerobatic flight.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.