No fatalities

Champion 7GCAA accident at Sterling, AK, 3 Mar 2020

Sterling, AK, United States

On March 3, 2020, a Champion 7GCAA operated by Sarah Shaw was involved in an aviation accident near Sterling, AK. No fatalities were reported. Investigators recorded the probable cause as: The pilot's failure to maintain altitude/clearance during approach, which resulted in the airplane impacting an area of deep snow. A factor associated with the accident was flat light conditions. This summary draws on records from NTSB; 12 related events involving the same aircraft type or operator are linked below.

SourcesNTSBPrimary reportUpdated 2026-08-03Data APIEditorial standards

Probable cause

The pilot's failure to maintain altitude/clearance during approach, which resulted in the airplane impacting an area of deep snow. A factor associated with the accident was flat light conditions.

— NTSB Determination

Contributing factors

PilotAltitude — Not attained/maintainedEffect on personnelDecision related to condition