Zenith STOL CH701 accident near Marienville, PA
On December 30, 2023, a Zenith STOL CH701 (airplane) was involved in an accident near Marienville, PA. 1 person died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- December 30, 2023
- Place
- Marienville, PA
- Aircraft
- Zenith STOL CH701 · Airplane
- Injuries
- 1 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 41.454°N, 79.070°W
- NTSB ID
- 20231231193580
Official records · ERA24FA077
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
On December 29, 2023, about 2157 eastern standard time, an experimental amateur-built Zenith STOL CH 701 airplane, N4209W, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near Marienville, Pennsylvania. The private pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 personal flight. ADS-B track data revealed that the airplane departed runway 24 at Erie International Airport/Tom Ridge Field (ERI), Erie, Pennsylvania, about 2058, destined for John Murtha Johnstown/Cambria County Airport (JST), Johnstown, Pennsylvania. The flight proceeded generally in an easterly direction about 3,100 ft msl, with some small deviations to east-northeast, then turned to a southeasterly direction, toward JST. At the time of the accident, the flight was operating under visual flight rules, and the pilot was not in communication with air traffic control. About 90 seconds before the last recorded ADS-B data, weather radar indicated that the airplane flew into an area of light reflectivity that was consistent with developing light snow (figure 1). Figure 1. The airplane’s ADS-B flight track (white line) overlaid onto an aerial image and base reflectivity weather radar imagery. The flight track ended in the vicinity of the accident site (area circled in red). About the same time, the airplane began a left turn while flying at an altitude about 2,900 ft msl, or about 1,300 ft agl. The left turn tightened, and the airplane climbed to about 3,350 ft msl, then began a steep descent in a tight left spiral. The last ADS-B-observed position of the airpla
Probable cause
The pilot’s decision to continue visual flight into deteriorating visibility conditions at night, which resulted in spatial disorientation and subsequent descent that continued to ground contact.
More accidents in PA
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Browse: Pennsylvania · 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.
