- Date
- July 10, 1983, 15:47 local (22:47 UTC)
- Place
- Shingle Springs, CA
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N1882GChampion 7ECA
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19830710029849A
- Case key
- 23571
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
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 acft collided with an oak tree while maneuvering at low alt. The weather was VMC. The pilot stated that he was flying to maintain a battery charge. He said he climbed to about 1600-1700 ft MSL and flew southeast. The average elevation along this route is 1300 ft MSL. The pilot stated that as he approached Shingle Springs his engine started to misfire. He turned toward an emergency landing area. During the turn his engine regained power so he continued the turn to roll out on his original heading. It was during this last portion of the turn that the acft struck a tree & crashed witnesses said they saw the acft make 2 complete circles of the area at 200 ft AGL before the collision. They also said had seen this acft circling this area on previous occasions.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N1882G
- Reported as
- Champion 7ECA
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 604
- Airframe hours
- 2,380
- Engine
- Lycoming O-235-C1, 108 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Francis R. Hightower
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · December 1, 1982 · 5 hours before
- Departed
- 061 · Shingle, CA
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
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 1,400 total · 18 in this make and model · 1,328 as pilot in command · 36 in the last 90 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- Calm
- Visibility
- 25 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 93 °F
- 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.