- Date
- November 13, 1999, 07:45 local (12:45 UTC)
- Place
- Ridgeland, SC
- Injuries
- 1 minor
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Initial climb
- Aircraft
- N2570FChampion 7ECA
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report January 18, 2001
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19991113045869A
- Case key
- 47751
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to obtain/maintain adequate airspeed during the takeoff/initial climb which resulted in an inadvertent stall and subsequent collision with terrain.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The pilot reported that he refueled the airplane and completed a normal preflight inspection of the airplane before the takeoff. The pilot further stated that after liftoff the airplane turned left about 45 degrees. According to the pilot, the airplane stalled and collided with the ground. No mechanical problems with the airplane were reported by the pilot. The pilot also stated that he should have aborted the takeoff.
Factual narrative
On November 13, 1999, at 0745 eastern standard time, a Champion 7ECA, N2570F, collided with the ground shortly after liftoff from runway 21 at the Ridgeland Airport in Ridgeland, South Carolina. The personal flight was operated by the pilot under the provisions of Title 14 CFR Part 91 with no flight plan filed. Visual weather conditions prevailed at the time of the accident. The airplane sustained substantial damage, and the private pilot received minor injuries. The flight departed Ridgeland, South Carolina, at 0744 with a planned destination of St. Mary, Georgia.
The pilot reported that he refueled the airplane and completed a normal preflight inspection of the airplane before the takeoff. The pilot further stated that after liftoff the airplane turned left about 45 degrees. According to the pilot, the airplane stalled and collided with the ground.
No mechanical problems with the airplane were reported by the pilot. The pilot also stated that he should have aborted the takeoff.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N2570F
- Reported as
- Champion 7ECA
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 201
- Airframe hours
- 1,485
- Engine
- Lycoming O-235, 118 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Charles R. Whittemore
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · November 30, 1999 · 12 hours before
- Departed
- 3J1
- Destination
- St. Mary, GA
- Airport
- 3J1 · Ridgeland Airport, runway 21, 2,700 × 75 ft, asphalt
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 68
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Left
- Flight hours
- 1,100 total · 75 in this make and model · 15 in the last 90 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 0° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 6 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 64 °F, dew point 52 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
- Observed at
- HXD
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.
Other investigations on N2570F · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.