American Champion Aircraft Cor 7GCBC N5027G

Summary

On 31 July 2010 at about 00:55 local time, a American Champion Aircraft Cor 7GCBC registered N5027G, operated by Big Q Aviation, was involved in an accident near Midlothian, Texas, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 died. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

31 July 2010 at 00:55

Classification

Accident

Location

Midlothian, Texas, United States

Nearest airport

Mid-Way Regional Airport (JWY)

Coordinates

32.4394, -96.9078

Aircraft

American Champion Aircraft Cor 7GCBC

Registration

N5027G

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Big Q Aviation

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Instructional

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Midlothian → Midlothian

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

CEN10FA448

2 people died.

The flight instructor’s incapacitation due to preexisting but unrecognized coronary disease, and the student pilot’s distraction and inability to recover the airplane from a stall/spin at low altitude.

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The flight instructor and student pilot were conducting local area flight training before departing on a night cross-country flight. The airplane was southbound on the south end of the airport when several witnesses observed the airplane flying erratically at low altitude. The witnesses observed that, after several maneuvers, the airplane was in a turn when it suddenly entered an almost vertical spiral into the ground. Postaccident examination of the airplane revealed no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures that would have precluded normal operations. An autopsy of the instructor revealed severe atherosclerosis of the right coronary artery with superimposed fresh-recent thrombus, suggesting an acute myocardial infarction (heart attack). The instructor’s most recent application for a second-class medical certificate noted “no” to all under “Medical History” including heart or vascular trouble. There was no indication that the instructor was aware of his heart disease. Such an acute event may have led to incapacitation of the instructor and distracted of the student pilot to the point of a loss of airplane control.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.