Champion 7ECA N9122E

Summary

On 26 April 2014 at about 16:39 local time, a Champion 7ECA registered N9122E was involved in an accident near Taylorsville, North Carolina, United States. 2 people were on board and one had minor injuries. One person on the ground also died. The aircraft was substantially damaged. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

26 April 2014 at 16:39

Classification

Accident

Location

Taylorsville, North Carolina, United States

Nearest airport

Taylorsville Airport (NC2)

Coordinates

35.9308, -81.1967

Aircraft

Champion 7ECA

Registration

N9122E

Category

Airplane

Year built

1970

Engines

1

Operator

Not recorded

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Crossville → Taylorsville

Aircraft damage

Substantial

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

ERA14LA212

1 person had minor injuries.

The pilot’s improper approach, which resulted in a long landing right of the runway centerline and the airplane’s subsequent collision with a riding mower that would have been difficult for the pilot to see due to its color and the nose-high attitude of the tailwheel-equipped airplane during landing. 

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

Read the full NTSB narrative

The private pilot was conducting a personal cross-country flight. The pilot reported that, during landing at his destination airport, the tailwheel-equipped airplane struck a riding mower from behind. The airplane nosed over on top of the operator and riding mower, and the operator sustained fatal injuries. Examination of the accident site revealed that the mower was off the right side of the 2,400-ft-long by 60-ft-wide turf runway, was traveling parallel to it while facing away from the airplane, and was about 180 ft from the end of the runway when it was struck. This evidence indicates that the pilot likely landed the airplane right of the runway centerline and not within the first one-third of the runway as recommended by the Federal Aviation Administration. If the pilot had landed within the first one-third of the runway, according to the airplane manufacturer's published landing data, he should have been able stop the airplane before reaching the mower. Examination of the accident site and the riding mower revealed that, due to the mower's dark green color, it would have been difficult for the pilot to see it from the air because it would have blended into the green turf areas surrounding the runway. Additionally, given that the airplane was tailwheel-equipped, the engine cowling would have restricted the pilot's view of the area directly ahead of the airplane as it approached the runway in a nose-high attitude, which would have made the riding mower difficult, if not impossible, for the pilot to see.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.