Champion 7GCB N466RV

Summary

On 23 June 2012 at about 06:00 local time, a Champion 7GCB registered N466RV, operated by Hicks Stephen J, was involved in an accident near Tyonek, Alaska, 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

23 June 2012 at 06:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Tyonek, Alaska, United States

Coordinates

60.9917, -151.6583

Aircraft

Champion 7GCB

Registration

N466RV

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Hicks Stephen J

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Anchorage → Anchorage

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ANC12CA057

Nobody was injured.

The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed, which resulted 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 pilot stated that he was flying his tailwheel-equipped airplane at 400 feet above ground level when he spotted two bears in a swamp. He said that, as he was turning left to look at the bears, the nose of the airplane dropped rapidly, and the airplane descended vertically. During the pilot's efforts to recover from the aerodynamic stall, the airplane impacted terrain, sustaining substantial damage to both wings and the fuselage. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical anomalies with the airplane.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.