American Champion (Acac) 8KCAB N943D

Summary

On 10 October 2005 at about 21:35 local time, a American Champion (Acac) 8KCAB registered N943D, operated by Alpine Aviation, Inc., was involved in an accident near Oroville, California, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

10 October 2005 at 21:35

Classification

Accident

Location

Oroville, California, United States

Nearest airport

Oroville Municipal (OVE)

Coordinates

39.4861, -121.6069

Aircraft

American Champion (Acac) 8KCAB

Registration

N943D

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Alpine Aviation, Inc.

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Oroville → Oroville

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

LAX06FA005

2 people died.

The certified flight instructor and the private pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed while attempting a return to runway maneuver, which resulted in an inadvertent stall.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

Seconds after takeoff during an instructional flight, the airplane stalled and impacted into an open field about 0.2 miles from the runway's departure end. The purpose of the flight was for the certified flight instructor (CFI) to provide the private certificated pilot instruction in unusual attitude maneuvers including in-flight loss of control and engine failure after takeoff with a return to runway landing. Ground witnesses observed the airplane in its initial takeoff climb at a 45-degree nose up attitude reach about 650 feet above ground level (agl), whereupon it stalled, banked sharply left, and then "fell out of the sky." Thereafter, it descended in a nose down attitude to ground impact while reversing direction. The accident site and wreckage examination revealed the airplane impacted the ground in a near level flight attitude. Insufficient altitude existed for the CFI to fully recover from the incipient spin/stall. A post impact ground fire destroyed the airplane. The airframe and engine were examined, and no evidence of any mechanical malfunction or control system disconnect was found.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.