Champion 7ECA accident near Cottonwood, CA
On April 29, 2025, a Champion 7ECA (airplane) was involved in an accident near Cottonwood, CA. 2 people died. Damage to the aircraft: destroyed.
- Date
- April 29, 2025
- Place
- Cottonwood, CA
- Aircraft
- Champion 7ECA · Airplane
- Injuries
- 2 fatal, 0 serious, 0 minor
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Position
- 40.339°N, 122.339°W
- NTSB ID
- 20250430200080
Official records · WPR25FA145
- Public docket: reports, statements and exhibits from the investigation
NTSB summary
HISTORY OF FLIGHTOn April 29, 2025, at 1534 Pacific daylight time, a Champion 7ECA airplane, N6310N, was destroyed when it was involved in an accident near the Flying N Ranch Airport (CA04), Cottonwood, California. The flight instructor and pilot receiving instruction were fatally injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 instructional flight. A witness, who was a friend of both pilots, observed the pilots at the airport about 30 minutes before the accident and approached them for general conversation. He observed the flight instructor seated in the front seat, and the rear-seated pilot was 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 a flight instructor in preparation for this upcoming flight instructor practical test. First responders located near the accident site reported that they observed black smoke rising toward the sky. When they arrived at the accident site, they saw the airplane engulfed in flames adjacent to a residence, as well as a person (later identified as the pilot receiving instruction), walking around the area. They began to extinguish the fire and render aid to the patient. The first responders stated that the patient was alert and able to tell them that he self-extricated from the airplane and that the flight instructor was still in the airplane. The patient told the first responders that the “man who was in the plane was flying at the time of the accident and had overshot t
Probable cause
The flight instructor’s delayed response to an improper landing approach and runway overshoot, which resulted in an impact with an airport perimeter fence and trees.
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Browse: California · 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.
