ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 269141
This information is added by users of ASN. Neither ASN nor the Flight Safety Foundation are responsible for the completeness or correctness of this information.
If you feel this information is incomplete or incorrect, you can submit corrected information.
| Date: | Saturday 23 October 2021 |
| Time: | 14:40 |
| Type: |  American Champion 8KCAB Super Decathlon |
| Owner/operator: | One Two Kilo Delta Corp |
| Registration: | N843AC |
| MSN: | 843-99 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1999 |
| Total airframe hrs: | 2345 hours |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 2 / Occupants: 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | Marengo, WI -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.) |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Ashland Airport, WI (ASX/KASX) |
| Minneapolis-Flying Cloud Airport, MN (FCM/KFCM) | |
| Investigating agency: | NTSB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
On October 23, 2021, about 1440 central daylight time, an American Champion Aircraft 8KCAB airplane, N843AC, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Marengo, Wisconsin. The pilot and his passenger were fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight.
The pilot and passenger were conducting a personal flight. The pilot’s sister-in-law received a phone call from the pilot about 5 minutes before the accident, during which the pilot told her to wait outside because he intended to fly over her house. The airplane then overflew her position multiple times at a low altitude before she saw the airplane “doing a loop” shortly before it descended into terrain.
Another witness saw the airplane flying “pretty low” about 200 - 400 ft above the ground. The witness stated that the airplane dove toward the ground while flying to the west before it “went back up going upside down” while flying to the south. The airplane then descended and crashed in a residential yard while flying north.
Based on video footage, the pilot completed several low passes and steep turns while flying near his sister-in-law’s house; there was no video evidence that the pilot attempted an aerobatic loop maneuver. Further review of on-board video footage indicated the airplane’s bank angle exceeded 80° left-wing-down, and the stall warning horn was audible in the seconds before the accident. Another video, captured by the pilot’s sister-in-law on the ground, showed the airplane in a steep nose-down descent in the moments before the accident.
Based on the available information, it is likely that the pilot did not maintain adequate airspeed during a steep turn, which resulted in the airplane exceeding its critical angle of attack and an inadvertent aerodynamic stall at a low altitude. The low altitude at which the aerodynamic stall occurred likely prevented a successful recovery.
Postaccident examination of the airplane and engine revealed no evidence of a preexisting mechanical malfunction or failure that would have prevented normal operation of the airplane.
Although the pilot’s autopsy revealed he had acute myocarditis, likely due to COVID-19, there was no evidence of impairment based on the on-board video footage. Additionally, toxicological testing did not reveal any impairing substances.
Probable Cause: The pilot’s failure to maintain adequate airspeed during the steep turn, which resulted in the airplane exceeding its critical angle of attack and an aerodynamic stall. Also causal was the pilot’s decision to conduct steep turns without sufficient altitude to safely recover from an inadvertent aerodynamic stall.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
https://kbjr6.com/2021/10/23/plane-crashes-in-rural-ashland-county-kills-2/
https://drydenwire.com/news/two-dead-following-plane-crash-in-ashland-county/
https://data.ntsb.gov/Docket?ProjectID=104152
https://registry.faa.gov/AircraftInquiry/Search/NNumberResult?nNumberTxt=843AC
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/N843AC
https://cdn.jetphotos.com/full/6/94318_1506255160.jpg (photo)
Location
Images:
- Photo(c): NTSB
Photo: NTSB
Media:
NTSB is investigating the Oct. 23, 2021, crash of an American Champion Aircraft 8KCAB near Marengo, Wisconsin.
— NTSB_Newsroom (@NTSB_Newsroom) October 23, 2021
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 24-Oct-2021 03:24 | Geno | Added |
| 24-Oct-2021 05:21 | Captain Adam | Updated [Aircraft type, Embed code] |
| 24-Oct-2021 21:25 | RobertMB | Updated [Aircraft type, Registration, Cn, Operator, Phase, Nature, Departure airport, Source, Embed code, Damage, Narrative] |
| 24-Oct-2021 21:26 | RobertMB | Updated [Source] |
| 18-Nov-2021 14:35 | Captain Adam | Updated [Location, Phase, Departure airport, Destination airport, Narrative] |
| 18-Nov-2021 14:36 | Captain Adam | Updated [Photo] |
| 29-Nov-2023 20:28 | Captain Adam | Updated [Time, Source, Narrative, Category, Accident report, Photo] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
The Aviation Safety Network is an exclusive service provided by:
Quick Links:
| ASN Home | Send Correction / Feedback |
| FSF Home | Disclaimer | Copyright |
| Contact Us | Privacy Policy |
| Press / Media |
CONNECT WITH US:
©2024 Flight Safety Foundation