Champion 7GCBC accident near Kenai, Alaska, August 18, 1996
On August 18, 1996 at about 5:15 am local time, a Champion 7GCBC, registered N5267X, was substantially damaged in an accident near Kenai, Alaska. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the pilot's delayed in initiating a go-around, and his failure to maintain clearance from trees. The high/fast approach for landing was a related factor.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 18, 1996 · about 5:15 am local time
- Place
- Kenai, Alaska · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Champion 7GCBC · all 7GCBCs on the register
- Registration
- N5267X · registry record · serial 192
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot and passenger were landing in a remote area near a campsite in a tailwheel-equipped airplane. The landing area was 800 feet long and surrounded by trees. The pilot's landing approach was high and fast. About half-way down the landing area, the pilot executed a go-around and added full power, but the airplane collided with trees about 30 feet above the ground.
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: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 534 hours in all; 480 in this make and model; 38 in the last 90 days; 14 in the last 30 days; 492 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,053 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, January 4, 1995; 105 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,685 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320-A2B (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: ENA AK at 11:45 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 60 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 55°F (13°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
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 N5267X the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number ANC96LA128.