Zenith ZODIAC CH601 N9853M

Summary

On 8 December 2024 at about 12:07 local time, a Zenith ZODIAC CH601 registered N9853M was involved in an accident near Columbia, Illinois, United States. One person was on board and one was seriously injured. The aircraft was destroyed. No probable cause has been published yet; this accident is still under investigation.

Date

8 December 2024 at 12:07

Classification

Accident

Location

Columbia, Illinois, United States

Coordinates

38.4607, -90.2344

Aircraft

Zenith ZODIAC CH601

Registration

N9853M

Category

Airplane

Year built

2007

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN25FA056

1 person was seriously injured.

The NTSB has not published a probable cause for this record. The investigation is still open; a final report usually follows one to two years after the accident.

Nothing about the cause is stated here that is not in the source record.

Read the full NTSB narrative

On September 8, 2024, about 1207 central standard time, a Zenith Zodiac CH601 airplane, N9853M, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Columbia, Illinois. The pilot sustained serious injuries. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The airplane was returning to Sackman Field Airport (IL91) in Columbia, Illinois, after suffering an apparent oil leak during a maintenance test flight. The pilot stated to first responders that he smelled oil and the cockpit started to fill with smoke. During the approach, the pilot opened the cockpit canopy to attempt to regain visibility and lost control of the airplane. The airplane impacted the ground and a postimpact fire ensued and destroyed the airplane. The accident site was in a flat agricultural field about 0.3 nautical miles northwest of the approach end of runway 21. A nearby surveillance camera recording showed the airplane impact the field in a nose high upright configuration, nose over, and come to rest inverted with smoke immediately visible. The pilot stated that he used an onboard fire extinguisher until two witnesses arrived and pulled him from the airplane. The engine compartment, forward fuselage, and cockpit were fully engulfed by fire when first responders. The debris path extended in the field about 60 ft on a heading of 140°, to the main wreckage. The airplane engine compartment, fuselage, and inboard sections of both wings had extensive thermal damage from a post-crash fire. Flight control continuity from the flight control surfaces to the cockpit controls were confirmed along with the engine power control. The engine was an experimental inline four cylinder, normally aspirated, manufactured by Aero Momentum and was observed to have damage consisting of several holes in the engine case and oil pan that corresponded with a damaged piston assembly. The wreckage was retained for further examination.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.