Champion 7GCG N9985Y

Summary

On 4 July 1998 at about 15:15 local time, a Champion 7GCG registered N9985Y was involved in an accident near Neavitt, Maryland, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 had minor injuries. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

4 July 1998 at 15:15

Classification

Accident

Location

Neavitt, Maryland, United States

Coordinates

38.7201, -76.2800

Aircraft

Champion 7GCG

Registration

N9985Y

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Annapolis → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

NYC98LA141

2 people had minor injuries.

The pilot's failure to maintain control of the airplane.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot positioned the airplane for a water departure, and advanced the throttle. The airplane then accelerated normally, and became airborne about 60 mph. When the airplane broke the water it pulled to the right. The pilot said he thought this was normal because on most water departures one float will come off the water first causing a slight turn in the opposite direction. However, in this case the turn to the right continued. The pilot tried to stop the turn with left stick, and left rudder but found them ineffective. The airplane then struck the water, right float and right wing first, flipped over, and came to rest inverted. Both the pilot and passenger had life-vests on, and exited the airplane from underwater. Winds were reported calm by a witness and flight control continuity was established. The airplane's floats showed minimal corrosion and all the chambers were intact. The pilot had approximately 30 hours of float plane experience, and he received his seaplane rating about July 1993.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.