Zenith CH750 Cruzer accident near Southington, OH
On October 28, 2022, a Zenith CH750 Cruzer (airplane) was involved in an accident near Southington, OH. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: substantial.
- Date
- October 28, 2022
- Place
- Southington, OH
- Aircraft
- Zenith CH750 Cruzer · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Substantial
- Position
- 41.273°N, 80.929°W
- NTSB ID
- 20221030106224
Official records · ERA23FA046
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn October 28, 2022, at 1243 eastern daylight time, an experimental amateur-built Zenith CH 750 Cruzer, N820RC, was substantially damaged when it was involved in an accident near Southington, Ohio. The sport pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. According to a witness who spoke to the accident pilot, the airplane was working “fine” and the pilot intended to fly in the local area. The witness then watched the pilot perform an engine run-up, and saw the airplane take off from runway 22 around 1130, with no anomalies noted. The airplane turned left into the airport traffic pattern and the witness departed the airport for his flight. According to the airport manager, the pilot usually departed on runway 4/22, which was asphalt, and then landed on runway 18/36, which was turf. Both runways had left traffic patterns (see figure 1). Figure 1 - View of airport traffic patterns in relation to the accident location. The orange dashed line is the left traffic pattern for the asphalt runway (4/22). The green dashed line is the left traffic pattern for the turf runway (18/36). WRECKAGE AND IMPACT INFORMATIONThe airplane came to rest in a residential yard across the street from airport property. All major components of the airplane were located in the vicinity of the main wreckage and an odor similar to gasoline was noted at the accident site. The airplane struck a tree before impacting the ground and parts of the windscreen were scattered along a 239° magnetic heading. The fuselage with th
Probable cause
The pilot's failure to maintain proper airspeed while maneuvering in the airport traffic pattern and his exceedance of the airplane’s critical angle of attack, which resulted in an aerodynamic stall at an altitude that was too low to recover.
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Browse: Ohio · Zenith 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.
