American Champion 7GCBC N519AC

Summary

On 2 February 2018 at about 19:15 local time, a American Champion 7GCBC registered N519AC was involved in an accident near Santa Paula, California, 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

2 February 2018 at 19:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Santa Paula, California, United States

Nearest airport

Santa Paula (SZP)

Coordinates

34.3456, -119.0631

Aircraft

American Champion 7GCBC

Registration

N519AC

Category

Airplane

Year built

2000

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Santa Paula → Santa Paula

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

GAA18CA120

Nobody was injured.

The pilot’s failure to maintain directional control during landing due to being distracted by another airplane and her delayed initiation of a go-around, during which the right wing struck a parked helicopter.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that, during landing, she became distracted by another airplane performing a touch-and-go, and upon touchdown, the airplane veered to the right. She added full power to go around, but the airplane continued to the right as it became airborne, and the right wing struck a parked helicopter. Subsequently, the airplane impacted the tops of bushes and came to rest inverted in an adjacent riverbed. The airplane sustained substantial damage to both wings. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.