American Champion (Acac) 8GCBC N35RF

Summary

On 1 August 2006 at about 01:00 local time, a American Champion (Acac) 8GCBC registered N35RF was involved in an accident near Anchorage, Alaska, United States. 2 people were on board and one was seriously injured, one 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

1 August 2006 at 01:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Anchorage, Alaska, United States

Nearest airport

Goose Bay (Z40)

Coordinates

61.3944, -149.8456

Aircraft

American Champion (Acac) 8GCBC

Registration

N35RF

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Merrill Field → Unknown

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ANC06LA105

1 person was seriously injured.

The flight instructor's failure to maintain sufficient airspeed to avoid a stall during a turn to reverse direction, which resulted in an inadvertent stall and a loss of control. Factors associated with the accident are the inadvertent stall, and the flight instructor's improper in-flight planning/decision to simulate a low altitude loss of engine power over water.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The commercial certificated flight instructor was giving primary flight instruction under Title 14, CFR Part 91 when the accident occurred. According to the student pilot, they were doing traffic pattern work at a gravel airstrip, when during initial climb from the runway, the instructor "pulled the engine" to simulate a loss of engine power emergency. The runway they were using required a departure over a saltwater inlet, and the only recourse was to execute a 180 degree turn toward the runway they had just departed. The student estimated they were 300-500 feet above the water when he initiated a standard rate turn. He said the instructor told him the turn was not steep enough, but because of the low altitude, the student did not feel comfortable increasing the angle of bank. The student said the instructor took control of the airplane, and dramatically increased the angle of bank. He said the airplane stalled, and dove toward the ground, with the instructor leveling the wings just as the airplane collided with trees adjacent to the runway. The student said the airplane's wings and fuselage received structural damage.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.