No fatalities

27 Jun 2009: CHAMPION 7GCAA — Richard C. O'Riley — Ware, MA

Ware, MA, United States

On 27 Jun 2009, a CHAMPION 7GCAA operated by Richard C. O'Riley was involved in an aviation accident near Ware, MA. No fatalities were reported. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: The pilot's failure to maintain control of the airplane during landing. This summary draws on records from NTSB; 12 related events involving the same aircraft type or operator are linked below.

SourcesNTSBPrimary reportUpdated 1778583330Data APIEditorial standards

A pilot was landing at his home airstrip when the airplane nosed over after the propeller contacted soft ground, damaging the vertical stabilizer and right wing lift struts. The pilot reported no mechanical issues.

Accident Details

The pilot stated that an annual inspection of the airplane had just been completed. He was flying the airplane from that location to his home airstrip. During the approach for a full stop landing, the wind was on the nose of the airplane and the approach speed was 55 mph. When the airplane was approximately 1 foot above the runway, the pilot attempted a three point landing. At that moment, the airspeed decreased and the nose dropped. The propeller subsequently contacted the soft ground, causing the airplane to nosed over.

Damage

The nosed-over event resulted in damage to the vertical stabilizer and the right wing lift struts. No other damage was reported.

Reporting

The pilot reported that there was nothing mechanically wrong with the airplane that caused the accident to occur. The pilot did not report the accident to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). However, an individual attempting to purchase the airplane noted the damage and alerted the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The FAA in turn notified the NTSB on June 10, 2010.

Contributing factors

Airspeed — Not attained/maintained