- Date
- May 29, 1996, 18:00 local (23:00 UTC)
- Place
- Des Moines, IA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N396BGChampion 7GCBC
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report July 25, 1996
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19960529011889A
- Case key
- 10262
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 inadvertent use of the brakes which resulted in a loss of directional control. A factor associated with the accident was the ravine which the airplane traveled down.
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 inadvertently applied the brakes while recovering from a bounced landing. The airplane traveled off the right side of the runway and down a ravine where it nosed over upon contacting a ditch.
Factual narrative
On May 29, 1996, at 1800 central daylight time, a Champion 7GCBC, operated by a private-instrument rated pilot, nosed over following a loss of directional control on landing at the Des Moines International Airport, Des Moines, Iowa. The 14 CFR Part 91 flight was not operating on a flight plan. The airplane was substantially damaged and the pilot was not injured. The local flight originated from Osceola, Iowa, at 1650 cdt.
The pilot reported that he must have flared "to flat" because the airplane touched down hard and bounced back into the air during landing. He stated he added power to "smooth out the ensuing touchdown." He reported that he must have inadvertently applied the brakes during the landing and that is what caused the airplane to veer off the south side of the runway. The airplane traveled into a ravine where it nosed over upon contacting a ditch at the bottom of the ravine.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N396BG
- Reported as
- Champion 7GCBC
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 1216-96
- Airframe hours
- 8
- Engine
- Lycoming O-320-B2B, 160 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Robert M. Garnett
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Aerobatic; Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · December 17, 1995 · 8 hours before
- Departed
- I75 · Osceola, IA
- Destination
- DMS
- Airport
- DSM · Des Moines, runway 13R, 3,202 × 100 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
- 64
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 1,219 total · 17 in this make and model · 1,075 as pilot in command · 26 in the last 90 days · 12 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 110° at 9 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Altimeter
- 30.00 inHg
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.