- Date
- March 26, 1997, 18:45 local (Mar 27, 1997, 00:45 UTC)
- Place
- South St. Paul, MN
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N11023Champion 7ECA
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Status
- Completed · report February 15, 2000
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19970327003809A
- Case key
- 10535
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 inadequate compensation for wind and his failure to maintain adequate obstacle clearance which resulted in collision with a snowbank. The pilot's lack of recent experience, the crosswind, and snowbank are contributing factors.
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 was executing touch and go landings for flight proficiency. The pilot was using runway 16 and a right crosswind existed at the time of the accident. The pilot reported that when the airplane was approximately 2,500 feet down the runway the tail cocked to the right, and that he was unable to straighten out the airplane before it went off the runway. The pilot initiated a go around, however the airplane struck a snow drift along the runway and flipped over. This was the pilot's first flight in the past 90 days, and he did not report any mechanical malfunctions with the airplane.
Factual narrative
On March 26, 1997, at 1845 central standard time (cst), a Champion 7ECA, N11023, was substantially damaged during the execution of touch and go landings, at the South St. Paul Airport, South St. Paul, Minnesota. During the go around from the second landing, the airplane hit a snowbank, and flipped over. The commercial rated pilot was uninjured in the accident. The 14 CFR Part 91 flight was operating in visual meteorological conditions, and no flight plan had been filed for the local flight. The flight originated from the South St. Paul Airport at 1830 cst.
The pilot reported on the Pilot/Operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1/2, and in a written statement that he was executing touch and go landings for flight proficiency. The pilot was using runway 16 at the time of the accident. The pilot reported the winds at 230 degrees at 10 to 12 knots. The local automated weather observation station reported the winds at 1835 cst at 270 degrees at five knots. The pilot reported that when the airplane was approximately 2,500 feet down the runway the tail cocked to the right, and that he was unable to straighten out the airplane before it went off the runway. The pilot reported that he initiated a go around, however the airplane struck a snow drift along the runway, and then flipped over.
The pilot's reported flight time indicated that this was the pilot's first flight in the past 90 days. The pilot did not report any mechanical malfunctions with the airplane.
The airplane's right wing sustained crushing damage, the right wing strut collapsed. The windshield was broken, and the propeller was bent.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N11023
- Reported as
- Champion 7ECA
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 249
- Airframe hours
- 2,308
- Engine
- Continental O-200-A, 100 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Donald J. Kyser
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · March 18, 1996 · 45 hours before
- Departed
- D97
- Destination
- D97
- Airport
- D97 · South St.Paul, runway 16, 4,000 × 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
- 51
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Valid Medical--no waivers/lim.
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 828 total · 550 in this make and model · 639 as pilot in command
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Dusk
- Wind
- 250° at 7 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 48 °F, dew point 39 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- D97
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.