Champion 7ECA N5235X

Summary

On 10 April 2004 at about 20:05 local time, a Champion 7ECA registered N5235X was involved in an accident near Hardin, Montana, United States. One person was 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

10 April 2004 at 20:05

Classification

Accident

Location

Hardin, Montana, United States

Nearest airport

Fairgrounds Airpark (F02)

Coordinates

45.7253, -107.6014

Aircraft

Champion 7ECA

Registration

N5235X

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Anaconda → Hardin

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

SEA04LA067

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to perform a go-around. Contributing factors were the pilot's misjudgment of speed and distance and the tree.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The pilot reported that he determined the wind to be approximately 30 degrees from the right at 10 to 12 knots and favoring runway 22, but on final approach he noticed the wind was stronger and nearly 90 degrees from the right. The pilot then elected to land on a grass area adjacent to runway 22, which was approximately 1,000 feet long and into the wind. On his final approach to the grass strip the pilot noticed a fence bordering the end of the runway, resulting in an approach a little higher and faster than normal. After touching down and determining he would not be able to stop before the end of the runway, the pilot aborted the landing. During the aborted landing the airplane's left wing impacted a tree, spinning it 180 degrees to the left before falling to the ground in an upright position. A weather observation taken about 10 minutes prior to the accident from an airport located 38 nautical miles west of the accident airport revealed in part that the wind was from 310 degrees at 17 knots with gusts to 24 knots. The pilot reported no mechanical failures or malfunctions with the aircraft prior to the flight.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.