# NTSB ANC05CA134: Champion 7KCAB, N63995, Fairbanks, AK, September 3, 2005 - Type: NTSB accident investigation - Classification: Accident · No injuries · Data collection · Final report - Date: September 3, 2005, 13:00 local (21:00 UTC) - Place: Fairbanks, AK - Coordinates: 64.659164, -148.380279 - Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=64.6592&lon=-148.3803&mi=10 - Phase of flight: [Landing](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb-phases/550) (OpenAirDocs' grouping) - Highest injury: No injuries - Injuries: 1 uninjured - Status: Completed, report December 20, 2005 - Report: Approved by Office Director - NTSB office: Alaska Regional Office - NTSB case key (mKey): 62401 - NTSB case page: https://web.ntsb.gov/investigations/?ntsbnumber=ANC05CA134 - NTSB report (PDF, downloads): https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-repgen/api/Aviation/ReportMain/GenerateNewestReport/62401/pdf - Page: https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/ANC05CA134 ## Probable cause The pilot's selection of unsuitable terrain for landing, which resulted in a nose over during the landing roll. A factor contributing to the accident was a depression/ditch in the landing surface. ## 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 - terrain condition - sand bar - terrain condition - ditch (contributing factor) - unsuitable terrain or takeoff/landing/taxi area - selected, pilot in command (cause) - Nose over, landing - roll ## Analysis The airline transport certificated pilot was landing on a gravel bar along a river. The landing area was about 1,400 feet long, and about 300 feet wide. The pilot said he flew over the area several times, looking for any hazards, and then proceeded to land. During the landing roll, the airplane encountered a depression that the pilot had not observed before. The airplane nosed over and received structural damage to the left wing lift strut and the vertical stabilizer. ## Factual narrative On September 3, 2005, about 1300 Alaska daylight time, a tundra tire-equipped Champion 7KCAB airplane, N63995, sustained substantial damage when it nosed over during the landing roll on a remote gravel bar, about 16 miles south-southwest 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 airline transport certificated pilot, the sole occupant, was not injured. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed. The flight originated at the Fairbanks International Airport about 1200, and 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 3, the pilot indicated that he was landing toward the south on a gravel bar along the Tanana River. The landing area was about 1,400 feet long, and about 300 feet wide. The pilot said he flew over the area several times, looking for any hazards, and then proceeded to land. During the landing roll, the airplane encountered a depression the pilot had not observed before. The airplane nosed over and received structural damage to the left wing lift strut, and the vertical stabilizer. ## Aircraft - Registration: [N63995](https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N63995-2008-10-09), registration cancelled 2008-10-09, S/N 196, built 1969 (OpenAirDocs) - Reported make and model: Champion 7KCAB - Registry model: [Champion 7KCAB](https://openairdocs.org/model/champion-7kcab) (registry code 21101P3) (OpenAirDocs) - Registry engine: [Lycoming IO-320 series](https://openairdocs.org/engine/lycoming-io-320-series) (registry code 41509, reciprocating) (OpenAirDocs) - Category: Airplane - Serial number: 196 - Engines: Lycoming IO-320-E2B reciprocating - Damage: Substantial damage - Flight: Personal, Part 91 - Registered owner: Mark Meyer - Airworthiness certificate: Standard, Normal - Departed: PAFA, Fairbanks, AK - Destination: Fairbanks, AK ## Flight crew As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names. - Pilot; age 46; airline transport, flight instructor, commercial; airplane ratings: multi-engine land, single-engine land; instrument ratings: airplane; medical: class 2; flight hours: 15,000 total, 40 in this make and model, 200 in the last 90 days, 40 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 20050903024609A](https://openairdocs.org/incident/20050903024609A), Sep 3, 2005: Bbavia 7KCAB, Wisky Island, AK, Substantial damage. (-23) [privacy data omitted] on September 3, 2005, N63995 flipped over onto its back while rolling out after landing on a 1400 foot gravel bar. The wing… 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.