# Accident 20000405012329A: Amtr CH601HDS, Orange, TX, April 5, 2000

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: April 5, 2000, 18:30 local time
- Place: Orange, TX
- Airport: Orange County Airport
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Practice Training Manuevers
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 30.0996° N, 93.7492° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=30.0996&lon=-93.7492&mi=10
- Aircraft: N601GJ, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N601GJ-2015-05-13) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Johnson Robert D ZODIAC CH601HDS (registry code 05605TE, https://openairdocs.org/model/johnson-robert-d-zodiac-ch601hds) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Bombardier ROTAX (ALL) (registry code 09050, https://openairdocs.org/engine/bombardier-rotax-all) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: AMTR CH601HDS
- Reported engine: ROTAX ROTAX912
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 2
- Pilot flight hours: 347 total, 168 in this make and model, 104 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB FTW00LA117](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW00LA117) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20000405012329A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

(-23) ON APRIL 5, 2000, AT APPPROX. 1830, ^PRIVACY DATA OM^ SAW WHAT HE THOUGHT TO BE A "HOMEMADE" AIRPLANE ENTER WHAT APPEARED RO BE A STALL SPIN WHEN ENTERING DOWNWIND FOR RE22 AT ORANGE COUNTY AIRPORT. ^PRIVACY D^ STATED THAT AT APPROX. 400 FT. THE PILOT ALMOST HAD THE PLANE RECOVERED FROM THE SPIN, BUT AT THE POINT IT WENT INVERTED AND THEN WENT VERTICALLY INTO THE GROUND.                                                                      (.4)THE SINGLE-ENGINE EXPERIMENTAL HOMEBUILT AIRPLANE IMPACTED THE TERRAIN WHILE MANEUVERING IN DAY VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS IN THE LOCAL AREA. WITNESSES HEARD THE ENGINE STALL, QUIT, AND RESTART. OTHER WITNESSES OBSERVED THE AIRPLANE STALL AND SPIRAL DOWN TOWARDS THE GROUND IN A CLOCKWISE DIRECTION. THE AIRPLANE IMPACTED TERRAIN IN A NOSE LOW ATTITUDE. FLIGHT CONTROL CONTINUITY WAS CONFIRMED. ACCORDING TO THE MANUFACTURER REPRESENTATIVE, WHO EXAMINED THE ENGINE, 'THERE WAS NO ENGINE CONDITION IDENTIFIED WHICH COULD BE DIRECTLY ASSOCIATED TO ENGINE FAILURE OR STOPPAGE.' IT COULD NOT BE DETERMINED WHICH OF THE TWO PRIVATE PILOTS ABOARD THE AIRPLANE WAS ON THE FLIGHT CONTROLS AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB FTW00LA117](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW00LA117), Apr 5, 2000: Johnson Zodiac CH-601-HDS (N601GJ), Orange, TX, destroyed, 2 fatal. Probable cause: the inadvertent stall while maneuvering. A contributing factor was the loss of engine power for an undetermined reason.

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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