Champion 7GCB accident near Dillingham, Alaska, May 2, 1996
On May 2, 1996 at about 10:25 pm local time, a Champion 7GCB, registered N9985Y, was substantially damaged in an accident near Dillingham, Alaska (Dillingham airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
failure of the pilot to maintain directional control during the landing, which resulted in an inadvertent ground loop/swerve.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 2, 1996 · about 10:25 pm local time
- Place
- Dillingham, Alaska · Dillingham · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Champion 7GCB · all 7GCBs on the register
- Registration
- N9985Y · no longer on the register · serial 145
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The airplane was equipped with oversized, 29 inch Gar Aero 'Tundra' tires. A witness reported that as the airplane was landing on a hard surfaced runway, it swerved slightly, then veered to the right. The airplane's left main landing gear wheel separated, and the left main landing gear subsequently collapsed. The axle's fracture surfaces were consistent with an overload failure. The same pilot and airplane had been involved in an earlier ground loop/landing incident on a hard surfaced runway, two days before the accident landing.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: commercial pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 560 hours in all; 50 in this make and model; 50 in the last 90 days; 25 in the last 30 days; 350 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,219 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, March 15, 1996; 70 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,650 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-A2B (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: King Salmon AK
- Destination: DLG
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 19, 6,404 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 090° at 3 knots
- Visibility: 20 statute miles
- Sky: ovct at 25,000 ft
- Temperature: 39°F (4°C), dew point 27°F (-3°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 5:50 pm from DLG
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Other NTSB records under N9985Y the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.