Plane Crash List

Champion AERONCA 7BCM N2517E

18 March 2003 · Pahokee, Florida, United States · Fatal

Summary

On 18 March 2003 at about 22:55 local time, a Champion AERONCA 7BCM registered N2517E was involved in an accident near Pahokee, Florida, United States. One person was on board and one died. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

The record

Date
at 22:55
Classification
Accident
Location
Pahokee, Florida, United States
Coordinates
26.7833, -80.6833
Aircraft
Champion AERONCA 7BCM
Registration
N2517E
Category
Airplane
Engines
1
Operator
Not recorded
Operating rule
Part 91: General Aviation
Purpose of flight
Other Work Use
Phase of flight
Not recorded
Route
Belle Glade → Unknown
Aircraft damage
Substantial
Weather
VMC
Light
Day
NTSB number
MIA03FA077

People

1 person died.

On board Died Serious Minor Uninjured
1 1 0 0 0

Probable cause

The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed, resulting in an inadvertent stall while maneuvering.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The airline transport rated pilot was maneuvering the airplane at low altitude over a sugar cane field for the purpose of scaring birds out of the field. Two witnesses observed the airplane make a low pass over the field to the west then start a steep climbing right turn to the northwest. According to one witness, as the airplane "was about to turn back into the field it was obvious he was in trouble (did not have enough room to recover) not sure if engine quit or he killed the power to recover." The witness said he saw the airplane "stall" and impact the ground. The other witness reported that the airplane was turning, "did not pull up" and hit the ground "at about 30 degrees from vertical." The witnesses indicated that the wind was from the west, and the airplane was turning from upwind to downwind when the accident occurred. Examination of the accident site revealed that the airplane impacted the ground in a nose low attitude with little forward speed. Examination of the wreckage revealed no evidence of any anomalies that would have precluded normal operation of the airplane.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.

Other Champion AERONCA accidents

Date Aircraft Location Operator Outcome Died
15 Jul 1996 Champion AERONCA 7GCB
N9908Y
Fairhope, Alabama, United States - Fatal 1
27 Aug 2010 Champion AERONCA 7HC
N8919R
Louisville, Kentucky, United States - No injuries -
19 Apr 2014 Champion AERONCA 7AC
N82206
Port Gibson, Mississippi, United States - No injuries -
27 May 2016 Champion AERONCA 7AC
N2675E
Groveland, California, United States - Minor injuries -
31 May 1990 Champion AERONCA 7DC
N2759A
Elmendorf, Alaska, United States - No injuries -
7 Jun 1990 Champion AERONCA 7CCM
N75064
Albany, Georgia, United States William B. Jackson No injuries -

All 14 records for this type

Other accidents in this area

Date Aircraft Location Operator Outcome Died
25 Dec 2003 Cessna 172RG
N4721R
Key West, Florida, United States Avion Jet Center, LLC No injuries -
16 Aug 2003 Piper PA-25-235
N8785L
West Palm Beach, Florida, United States Barry Aviation Florida, Inc. Serious injuries -
5 Oct 2003 Airbus A330
HB-IQZ
Miami, Florida, United States Edelweiss Air AG No injuries -
1 Jul 2003 Samual G Dasilva VELOCITY
N51576
Sebastian, Florida, United States - Serious injuries -
21 Aug 2003 Piper PA-31
N93DC
Clearwater, Florida, United States Bruce T. Kendell Fatal 2
18 Jan 2003 Cessna 172P
N65906
Edgewater, Florida, United States Comair Aviation Academy, Inc. Fatal 4

All 170,864 records in United States