American Champion 8GCBC N131PM

Summary

On 20 November 2011 at about 19:30 local time, a American Champion 8GCBC registered N131PM was involved in an accident near Ashton, Idaho, United States. One person was 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

20 November 2011 at 19:30

Classification

Accident

Location

Ashton, Idaho, United States

Nearest airport

Private Airstrip, No Name (NONE)

Coordinates

44.1247, -111.4542

Aircraft

American Champion 8GCBC

Registration

N131PM

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Ririe → Ashton

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

WPR12CA041

Nobody was injured.

The student pilot’s poor decision-making when he decided to land on a snowy grass airstrip, which resulted in an encounter with deep snow during the landing roll and a subsequent nose-over.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The student pilot reported that he approached the privately-owned, rough grass airstrip and observed that it was covered with snow. After evaluating the snow’s depth as being only a few inches, the pilot landed. During the landing roll, the airplane decelerated quickly and nosed over, bending the vertical stabilizer, wings, and lift struts. After exiting the airplane, the pilot realized that the snow was between 6- and 8-inches deep. The student pilot’s certified flight instructor reported that he had not endorsed the student’s flight record logbook in over 90 days, and he had not authorized the student to fly to the accident airport. The student was not current in the airplane.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.