Champion 7EC accident near Valdez, AK
On July 12, 2022, a Champion 7EC (airplane) was involved in an accident near Valdez, AK. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- July 12, 2022
- Place
- Valdez, AK
- Aircraft
- Champion 7EC · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 61.134°N, 145.731°W
- NTSB ID
- 20220715105476
Official records · ANC22FA053
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn July 11, 2022, about 1730 Alaska daylight time, a Champion 7EC airplane, N4340C, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident about 20 miles northeast of Valdez, Alaska. The student pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. The pilot departed from Valdez Pioneer Field Airport (VDZ), Valdez, and was returning to a private airstrip in Sutton, Alaska. When the pilot did not arrive in Sutton, family and friends reported the airplane overdue. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued an alert notice at 2246, and search personnel from the Civil Air Patrol, Alaska State Troopers, Alaska Air National Guard, and the U.S. Coast Guard, along with several volunteers, searched for the overdue airplane. Due to poor weather conditions along the anticipated flight route and the lack of an emergency locator transmitter (ELT) signal, the wreckage was not located until July 14th in an area known as Thompson Pass, at an elevation of about 2,560 ft mean sea level. Multiple witnesses along the route of flight reported seeing the airplane flying just above the trees in very poor weather conditions. PERSONNEL INFORMATIONThe student pilot had a solo cross-country endorsement dated March 21, 2022, with limitations of 2,500-ft cloud ceiling, 10 knots of wind, and 5 statute miles visibility; the endorsement expired on June 29, 2022. The pilot’s flight instructor stated that he did not provide any flight planning training for a flight to Valdez and the pilot did not have a cross-country solo en
Probable cause
The pilot’s decision to continue visual flight rules flight into instrument meteorological conditions which resulted in loss of control and collision with terrain.
More accidents in AK
- Beech 1900C, Nov 23, 1987
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Browse: Alaska · Champion aircraft
Source: NTSB aviation accident database (US government, public domain). Findings may be preliminary or later revised by the NTSB. Not a complete global record.
