Accident Overview
On April 29, 2025, at 1534 Pacific daylight time, a Champion 7ECA, registration N6310N, was destroyed when it crashed near Cottonwood, California. The airplane was engaged in a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 instructional flight. Both occupants—a flight instructor and a pilot receiving instruction—sustained fatal injuries.
Witness Account
A witness who was a friend of both pilots and located at Red Bluff Municipal Airport (RBL) in Red Bluff, California, reported seeing the pilots about 30 minutes before the accident. The witness observed the flight instructor seated in the front and the rear-seated pilot undergoing instruction for his flight instructor certificate. According to the witness, the flight instructor was acting as a student pilot, and the rear-seated pilot was acting as the flight instructor in preparation for an upcoming checkride.
First Responder Response
First responders located near the accident site reported seeing black smoke rising toward the sky. Upon arrival, they observed the airplane adjacent to a residence and a person—later identified as an occupant of the airplane—walking around the area. They began extinguishing the fire and rendering aid to the patient. The patient was alert and stated that he had self-extricated from the airplane and that the flight instructor was still inside. The patient told responders that the “man who was in the plane was flying at the time of the accident and had overshot the runway they were attempting to land on.” He added that the pilot flying “powered up and then lost control of the [air]plane.”
Accident Site Examination
Examination of the accident site revealed that the airplane impacted several trees and came to rest at the base of a tree about 585 feet south of the departure end of runway 16 at Flying N Ranch Airport (CA04) in Cottonwood, California. The first identified point of contact (FIPC) was a downed fence post located about 40 feet south of the departure end of the runway, aligned on an extended centerline. The post, about 5 feet tall, was separated at the base and exhibited a black transfer mark near the top. A tree about 40 feet tall, located about 380 feet south of the FIPC, had damaged limbs near its top. The debris path was oriented along a heading of about 355° magnetic and spanned about 100 feet from the FIPC to the main wreckage. The fuselage came to rest on its left side in an approximate 10° nose-low attitude, on a heading of about 310° magnetic, at an elevation of 538 feet mean sea level. The right wing and left main landing gear were separated from the fuselage and found about 5 to 10 feet north of the main wreckage. The wreckage was recovered to a secure location for further examination.