# Accident 20130813017599A: Champion 7GCAA, Paradise, CA, August 13, 2013

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: August 13, 2013, 11:30 local time
- Place: Paradise, CA
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Cruise/Level Flight
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 39.7011° N, 121.6733° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=39.7011&lon=-121.6733&mi=10
- Aircraft: N9607S, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N9607S-2018-02-12) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Champion 7GCAA (registry code 21101N8, https://openairdocs.org/model/champion-7gcaa) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Lycoming 0-320 series (registry code 41508, https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-320-series) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: CHAMPION 7GCAA
- Reported engine: LYCOMING 0-320 SERIES
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 2
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Commercial pilot
- Pilot flight hours: 3,750 total
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB WPR13FA370](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR13FA370) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20130813017599A

## Narrative

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

ON AUGUST 13, 2013 ABOUT 1130 PACIFIC DAYLIGHT TIME (PDT), N9607S, A CHAMPION 7GCAA AIRCRAFT, CRASHED NEAR PARADISE, CA, DURING AN AERIAL PIPELINE SURVEY FOR PACIFIC GAS & ELECTRIC (PG&E) COMPANY. THE AERIAL OBSERVATION FLIGHT WAS CONDUCTED UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF TITLE 14 CODE OF FEDERAL REGULATIONS PART 91 IN VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS. THE AIRCRAFT DEPARTED THE NUT TREE AIRPORT (VCB), VACAVILLE, CA, AT ABOUT 0850 (PDT), AND WAS DESTINED FOR CHICO MUNICIPAL AIRPORT (CIC), CHICO, CA.

ACCORDING TO THE NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD (NTSB), A WITNESS, WHO WAS AN OBSERVER IN A FIRE LOOKOUT TOWER AT SAWMILL PEAK LOCATED NINE MILES NORTHEAST OF THE ACCIDENT SITE, REPORTED THAT A HIGH-WING AIRCRAFT MADE APPROXIMATELY THREE LARGE RIGHT CIRCLES, AND THEN DEPARTED TO THE SOUTH. THE WITNESS STATED THAT HE DID NOT SEE THE AIRPLANE DESCEND OR SEE THE ACCIDENT SEQUENCE.

THE WRECKAGE TRAIL INDICATED THE AIRCRAFT STRUCK A ROCKY SURFACE AT ABOUT 45° ATTITUDE MARKING THE FIRST POINT OF CONTACT APPROXIMATELY 10 FEET UPHILL FROM THE WRECKAGE, WHICH WAS MOSTLY CONSUMED BY POST-IMPACT FIRE. ROUGHLY 21 ACRES OF BRUSH-COVERED LAND SURROUNDING THE WRECKAGE WAS BURNED. THE PILOT^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ OF THE AIRCRAFT AND A PASSENGER SUSTAINED FATAL INJURIES ON IMPACT.

DUE TO THE POST-IMPACT FIRE, IT COULD NOT BE CONCLUSIVELY DETERMINED WHETHER ANY AIRFRAME FAILURE, SYSTEM MALFUNCTION, OR PILOT ISSUES CONTRIBUTED TO THE ACCIDENT.

THE AIRCRAFT WRECKAGE WAS RELOCATED TO AN APPROVED TEAR DOWN FACILITY FOR FURTHER EXAMINATION. A WING-STRUT- MOUNTED CAMERA WAS RECOVERED FROM THE ACCIDENT SITE, AND IT IS BEING ANALYZED FOR SUPPORTIVE CLUES.

THIS REPORT MAY BE AMENDED WITH NEW EVIDENCE.

## 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 WPR13FA370](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR13FA370), Aug 13, 2013: Champion 7GCAA (N9607S), Paradise, CA, destroyed, 2 fatal. Probable cause: The pilot's failure to maintain airplane control during low-altitude maneuvering after encountering an updraft.

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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