The U.S. aircraft register, updated daily
Accidents · NTSB CEN18WA320 · Preliminary: the investigation is not finished

Champion 8KCAB accident near Toronto, Ca, July 12, 2018

On July 12, 2018 at about 11:59 pm local time, a Champion 8KCAB, registered CGDLP, was destroyed in an accident during takeoff near Toronto. It was flown under rules the NTSB did not record. 1 person was killed.

The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged

The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.

Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.

What the record shows

Date
July 12, 2018 · about 11:59 pm local time
Place
Toronto, Ca
Type
Accident
Injuries
1 person was killed.
Weather
not recorded
Aircraft
Champion 8KCAB No Series · all 8KCABs on the register
Registration
CGDLP · no longer on the register · serial 622 80
Damage
Destroyed
Flight
Flight · rules the NTSB did not record

The NTSB's narrative preliminary · quoted from the NTSB record

On July 12, 2018, at 2359 universal coordinated time, a Bellanca 8KCAB, Canadian registration C-GDLP, declared an emergency and impacted terrain shortly after takeoff from the Toronto/Buttonville Airport (CYKZ), Ontario, Canada. The pilot was fatally injured. The airplane was destroyed by impact forces and a post impact fire. The accident investigation is under the jurisdiction and control of the Canadian government. This report is for informational purposes only and contains only information released by or obtained from the Canadian government. Further information pertaining to this accident may be obtained from: Transportation Safety Board of Canada 200 Promenade du Portage Place du Centre, 4th Floor Hull, Quebec K1A 1K8 Canada Web site: http://www.tsb.gc.ca

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

What happened, in order

  1. Unknown or undetermined during takeoff defining event

The aircraft

  • Maximum gross weight: 1,799 lb
  • Landing gear: fixed
  • Fire on the ground

Weather at the time

  • Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)

Injuries

FatalSeriousMinorNone
Flight crew1

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.

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 CEN18WA320.