American Champion 7ECA N798L

Summary

On 15 April 2024 at about 18:23 local time, a American Champion 7ECA registered N798L, operated by Letourneau University, was involved in an accident near Lakeport, Texas, 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

15 April 2024 at 18:23

Classification

Accident

Location

Lakeport, Texas, United States

Nearest airport

East Texas Regional (KGGG)

Coordinates

32.3852, -94.7143

Aircraft

American Champion 7ECA

Registration

N798L

Category

Airplane

Year built

2005

Engines

1

Operator

Letourneau University

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN24LA171

Nobody was injured.

The student pilot’s failure to maintain adequate airspeed during the final approach, which resulted in an inadvertent aerodynamic stall. Contributing to the accident the flight instructor’s delayed remedial action.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The student pilot reported that, during the eleventh landing, they did not correct for a decreasing airspeed and stalled the airplane about 5 to 10 ft above the runway surface. The student pilot attempted to correct with throttle; however, the airplane dropped and impacted the runway hard on the right main landing gear followed by a ground swerve to the right then left. The right wing struck the runway which resulted in substantial damage to the right wing spar. The flight instructor 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.