- Date
- July 23, 2005, 14:00 local (20:00 UTC)
- Place
- Hailey, ID
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N16JEAmerican Champion 7ECA
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 27, 2005
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 20050723016909A
- Case key
- 62042
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 recovery from a bounced landing and his failure to maintain directional control during the landing roll. Factors include a crosswind, and soft terrain just off the side of the runway surface.
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
During the initial touchdown, the pilot inadvertently allowed the aircraft to bounce back into the air. At that time the aircraft encountered a crosswind gust that turned it away from the runway heading. When the aircraft touched down a second time, it was not aligned with the runway heading, and during his attempt to realign the aircraft with the runway, the pilot over-corrected, and the aircraft veered off the left side of the runway. After departing the runway, the aircraft encountered soft terrain, followed immediately by the collapse of the right main gear. According to the pilot, there was no problem with any of the aircraft's flight controls.
Factual narrative
On July 23, 2005, approximately 1400 mountain daylight time, an American Champion 7ECA, N16JE, experienced a collapse of its right main landing gear leg after the aircraft departed the side of the runway during the landing roll at Friedman Memorial Airport, Hailey, Idaho. The private pilot, who was the sole occupant of the aircraft, was not injured, but the aircraft, which is owned and operated by the pilot, sustained substantial damage. The 14 CFR Part 91 personal pleasure flight, which departed Salmon, Idaho, about two hours prior to the accident, was being operated in visual meteorological conditions. No flight plan had been filed. The ELT, which was activated by the accident sequence, was turned off at the scene.
According to the pilot, during the initial touchdown, he inadvertently allowed the aircraft to bounce back into the air. The aircraft then encountered a crosswind gust that turned it away from the runway heading. When the aircraft touched down a second time, it was not aligned with the runway heading, and according to the pilot, during his attempt to realign the aircraft with the runway, he over-corrected, and the aircraft veered off the left side of the runway. After departing the runway, the aircraft encountered soft terrain, followed immediately by the collapse of the right main gear. According to the pilot, there was no problem with any of the aircraft's flight controls.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N16JE
- Reported as
- American Champion 7ECA
- Category
- Airplane
- Serial number
- 580
- Engine
- Lycoming O-235-C-1, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Registered owner
- William A. Barrier
- Airworthiness certificate
- Standard, Normal
- Departed
- KSNM · Salmon, ID
- Destination
- KSUN · Hailey, ID
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
- 63
- Certificate
- Private
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land
- Medical
- Class 3
- Flight hours
- 161 total · 61 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.