# NTSB investigations: American Champion 8KCAB: Loss of control in flight

NTSB aviation accident and incident investigations since 1962: the probable cause, findings, aircraft, crew, weather and docket of each, linked to the FAA registry and the FAA’s own reports.

## Latest cases

- [NTSB ERA26FA067](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ERA26FA067.md): American Champion 8KCAB · Irvington, AL · Accident · 1 fatal · Class 3 · Field · Preliminary report · Dec 13, 2025 · N157WB · Substantial damage
  > On December 13, 2025, about 1145 central standard time, an American Champion Decathlon, N157WB, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Roy E. Ray Airfield (5R7), Bayou La Batre, Alabama. The commercial pilot was fatally injured. The airplane…
- [NTSB WPR25LA272](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/WPR25LA272.md): American Champion 8KCAB · Jamesburg, CA · Accident · Minor injuries · Class 3 · Limited · Preliminary report · Aug 31, 2025 · N15WJ · Substantial damage
  > On August 31, 2025, about 1100 Pacific daylight time, an American Champion 8KCAB Super Decathlon 177, N3357T, sustained substantial damage when it was involved in an accident near Jamesburg, California. The pilot and pilot rated passenger sustained minor…
- [NTSB CEN22FA019](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN22FA019.md): American Champion 8KCAB · Marengo, WI · Accident · 2 fatal · Class 3 · Field · Final report · Oct 23, 2021 · N843AC · Destroyed
  > The pilot’s failure to maintain adequate airspeed during the steep turn, which resulted in the airplane exceeding its critical angle of attack and an aerodynamic stall. Also causal was the pilot’s decision to conduct steep turns without sufficient altitude to…
- [NTSB CEN21LA468](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN21LA468.md): American Champion 8KCAB · Beaumont, TX · Accident · Serious injuries · Class 4 · Limited · Final report · Sep 18, 2021 · N2468W · Substantial damage
  > The flight instructor’s failure to maintain aircraft control during the turn to final approach resulting in a rapid descent and impact with terrain.
- [NTSB CEN20LA389](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN20LA389.md): Champion 8KCAB · Groton, SD · Accident · 2 fatal · Class 3 · Limited · Final report · Sep 13, 2020 · N83DH · Substantial damage
  > The pilot’s loss of airplane control during a low-altitude aerobatic maneuver.
- [NTSB CEN17WA161](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN17WA161.md): Champion 8KCAB · Cancun, Mexico · Accident · 1 fatal · Foreign investigation · Apr 14, 2017 · N65SE · Destroyed
  > The accident investigation is under the jurisdiction and control of the Mexican government. This report is for informational purposes only and contains only information released by or obtained from the Mexican government. Further information pertaining to…
- [NTSB CEN12LA112](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN12LA112.md): American Champion 8KCAB · Marysville, OH · Accident · 1 fatal · Limited investigation · Final report · Dec 22, 2011 · N161PC · Substantial damage
  > The pilot’s failure to maintain sufficient altitude from the terrain while performing low-level aerobatics.
- [NTSB CEN11FA029](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN11FA029.md): American Champion 8KCAB · Sebewaing, MI · Accident · 2 fatal · Field investigation · Final report · Oct 18, 2010 · N105AC · Substantial damage
  > The pilot's failure to maintain airspeed and aircraft control following a loss of engine power after takeoff.

## The whole list in SQL

Runs in DuckDB 1.2 or later on the release's Parquet files over HTTPS:

```sql
SELECT c."ntsbNumber", c."eventDate", c."eventType", c."eventCity", c."eventStateOrRegion", a.n_number, a."aircraftMake", a."aircraftModel", c."highestInjuryLevel", c."totalFatal", c."completionStatus", c.report_url
FROM 'https://openairdocs.org/data/latest/ntsb_case_detail.parquet' c LEFT JOIN 'https://openairdocs.org/data/latest/ntsb_aircrafts.parquet' a ON a.case_mkey = c."mKey" AND a.position = 1
WHERE c."mKey" IN (SELECT x.case_mkey FROM 'https://openairdocs.org/data/latest/ntsb_aircrafts.parquet' x WHERE x.aircraft_model_code IN ('2121000')
    AND EXISTS (SELECT 1 FROM 'https://openairdocs.org/data/latest/ntsb_events.parquet' s WHERE s.case_mkey = x.case_mkey AND s.aircrafts_position = x.position AND s."tier2Number" = '240' AND s.case_mkey IN (SELECT case_mkey FROM 'https://openairdocs.org/data/latest/ntsb_events.parquet' WHERE "isDefiningEvent")))
ORDER BY c."eventDate" DESC, c."ntsbNumber" DESC
```

This list as a web page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-events/240/sequence?model=2121000

---
OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.