# NTSB ANC04CA111: Champion 7GCBC, N9698S, Fairbanks, AK, September 5, 2004 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Data collection · Final report - Date: September 4, 2004, 18:00 local (Sep 5, 2004, 02:00 UTC) - Place: Fairbanks, AK - Coordinates: 64.158332, -147.78334 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=64.1583&lon=-147.7833&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report January 24, 2005 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Alaska Regional Office - NTSB case key (mKey): 60185 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ANC04CA111 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/60185/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC04CA111 ## Probable cause The pilot's selection of unsuitable terrain for landing, which resulted in the collapse of the right main landing gear during the landing roll. A factor contributing to the accident was rough and uneven terrain. ## Sequence of events In NTSB's coding before 2008 (https://www.ntsb.gov/GILS/Documents/codman.pdf). - On ground/water encounter with terrain/water, landing - roll - unsuitable terrain or takeoff/landing/taxi area - selected, pilot in command (cause) - terrain condition - rough/uneven (contributing factor) - Main gear collapsed, landing - roll ## Analysis The private certificated pilot was landing on a remote tundra-covered area that was rough and uneven. During the landing roll, the right main landing gear tire dropped into a hole. The pilot indicated that the right gear strut failed, which allowed the tire to rotate upward and strike the aft right wing lift strut. The strut buckled, and the right wingtip and propeller struck the ground. ## Factual narrative On September 4, 2004, about 1800 Alaska daylight time, a tundra tire-equipped Champion 7GCBC airplane, N9698S, sustained substantial damage when the right main landing gear collapsed during the landing roll at a remote landing area, about 40 miles southeast of Fairbanks, Alaska. The airplane was being operated as a visual flight rules (VFR) cross-country personal flight under Title 14, CFR Part 91, when the accident occurred. The airplane was operated by the pilot. The private certificated pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The flight originated at a private airstrip near Kenai, Alaska, about 1200. No flight plan was filed, nor was one required. During a telephone conversation with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigator-in-charge (IIC), on September 23, the pilot reported that he was landing on a tundra-covered area, about 4 miles east of Gold King Creek. The landing area was oriented north/south, and was about 500 feet long. The pilot said that the surface was rough and uneven, and as he landed toward the north, the right main landing gear tire dropped into a hole during the landing roll. The pilot indicated that the right gear strut failed, which allowed the tire to rotate upward and strike the aft right wing lift strut. The right wing strut buckled, and the right wingtip and propeller struck the ground. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N9698S](https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N9698S), registered now, S/N 47, built 1966 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Champion 7GCBC - Registry model: [Champion 7GCBC](https://openairdocs.org/model/champion-7gcbc) (registry code 21101PK) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming 0-320 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-0-320-series) (registry code 41508, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 47 - Engines: Lycoming O-320-A2B reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Registered owner: Wesley J. Main - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Departed: Kenai, AK - Destination: Fairbanks, AK ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 25; private; airplane ratings: single-engine land; medical: class 3; flight hours: 369 total, 328 in this make and model, 22 in the last 90 days, 11 in the last 30 days ## Weather - Conditions: Visual (VMC), Day ## FAA reports on this event (1) The FAA's own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date (OpenAirDocs). - [Accident 20040904024329A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20040904024329A), Sep 4, 2004: Bbavia 7GCBC, Fairbanks, AK, Substantial damage. (-23) Pilot landed on a tundra strip, bobbed to the right and the right gear hit some object folding it back. The right landing gear departed the aircraft… ## Other investigations on N9698S (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 DEN68D0100](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DEN68D0100), Aug 23, 1967: Aeronca 7GCBC (N9698S), Ten Sleep, WY, substantial damage 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. --- 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.