- Date
- August 11, 2006, 20:00 local (Aug 12, 2006, 00:00 UTC)
- Place
- Palmetto, FL
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Maneuvering
- Aircraft
- N9898BAmerican Champion 7EC
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report November 29, 2006
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- FAA FSDO
- FAA report
- 20060811017279A
- Case key
- 64345
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 maintain airspeed while maneuvering which resulted in a 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
The pilot stated that he took off from runway 7, at Manatee Airport, performed a climbing right turn to make a 45-degree heading change to the right, and upon reaching 200 feet altitude initiated a descending left turn to 225 degrees, in an effort to reverse course and fly along runway 25. According to the pilot, in the turn the airplane became unresponsive about the roll axis, and the airplane continued the descent in a nose low, left wing low attitude. He said he applied full right aileron, full up elevator, and full right rudder control inputs, but was unable to arrest the rate of descent. The airplane impacted the ground in a slight left wing low nose low attitude. On August 12, 2006, an FAA inspector conducted a post accident examination of the airplane, and no preaccident anomalies were noted to exist.
Factual narrative
On August 11, 2006, about 2000 eastern daylight time, N9898B, an American Champion 7EC, registered to and operated by Seminole Aviation Association Inc., as a Title 14 CFR Part 91 personal flight, crashed while the pilot was maneuvering following takeoff at Manatee Airport, Palmetto, Florida. Visual meteorological conditions prevailed, and no flight plan was filed. The airline-rated pilot received minor injuries, and the airplane incurred substantial damage. The flight was originating at the time of the accident.
The pilot stated that he took off from runway 7, at Manatee Airport, performed a climbing right turn to make a 45-degree heading change to the right, and upon reaching 200 feet altitude initiated a descending left turn to 225 degrees, in an effort to reverse course and fly along runway 25. According to the pilot, in the turn the airplane became unresponsive about the roll axis, and the airplane continued the descent in a nose low, left wing low attitude. He said he applied full right aileron, full up elevator, and full right rudder control inputs, but was unable to arrest the rate of descent. The airplane impacted the ground in a slight left wing low nose low attitude.
On August 12, 2006, an FAA inspector conducted a post accident examination of the airplane, and no preaccident anomalies were noted to exist.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N9898B
- Reported as
- American Champion 7EC
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 7FC218
- Airframe hours
- 5,645
- Engine
- Continental C90-12F, 95 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- Seminola Aviation Association Inc.
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 1, 2006 · 18 hours before
- Departed
- 48X · Palmetto, FL
- Destination
- VDF · Tampa, FL
- Airport
- 48X · Manatee, runway 25, 3,603 × 100 ft, grass/turf
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
- 30
- Injuries
- Minor
- Certificates
- Commercial, Military, Flight instructor, Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Single-engine sea, Multi-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 1
- Last flight review
- July 1, 2006
- Seat
- Front
- Flight hours
- 2,789 total · 12 in this make and model · 1,685 as pilot in command · 101 in the last 90 days · 38 in the last 30 days · 1 in the last 24 hours
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 60° at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- 10,000 ft broken
- Temperature
- 75 °F, dew point 73 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.04 inHg
- Observed at
- SRQ
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.