- Date
- March 4, 1990, 15:33 local (22:33 UTC)
- Place
- Pine Ridge, SD
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 1 serious
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N4301CChampion 7EC
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report September 10, 1992
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19900304026669A
- Case key
- 17900
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 failure of the pilot to maintain an adequate airspeed, after diverting his attention, which resulted in an inadvertent stall.
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
On the afternoon of the day of the accident, the private pilot/owner and a friend took off on a coyote hunting flight. The aircraft was observed to abruptly make a turn, stall, and impact the ground. The surviving passenger said that they had just spotted a coyote and the plt banked the acft sharply before it crashed.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N4301C
- Reported as
- Champion 7EC
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 7EC-301
- Engine
- Continental C-90-12, 90 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Lange, Casey R
- Registered owner
- Casey Lange
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- NONE · Pine Ridge, SD
- Destination
- Lange Ranch, SD
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
- 37
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 2, Expired
- Seat
- Front
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 535 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 170° at 6 knots
- Visibility
- 40 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 55 °F, dew point 25 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- RAP, 45 nm away
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 N4301C · 1
Matched to the same aircraft by N-number and date.