Champion 7CCM accident near Int'L Falls, Minnesota, August 6, 1988
On August 6, 1988 at about 1:28 am local time, a Champion 7CCM, registered N1744E, was destroyed in an accident near Int'L Falls, Minnesota. It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 2 people were killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 6, 1988 · about 1:28 am local time
- Place
- Int'L Falls, Minnesota · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Champion 7CCM · all 7CCMs on the register
- Registration
- N1744E · registry record · serial 7AC-5311
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THERE WERE NO EYEWITNESSES TO THIS ACCIDENT. THE AIRCRAFT WITH AN INSTRUCTOR AND STUDENT ABOARD WAS REPORTED MISSING. WHEN LOCATED THE SEAPLANE HAD DESCENDED INTO A WOODED SWAMP AND THE AIRCRAFT WAS SUBSTANTIALLY DAMAGED AND BOTH OCCUPANTS RECEIVED FATAL INJURIES. INSPECTION OF THE AIRCRAFT REVEALED AN INTACT FUEL SYSTEM WITH NO FUEL PRESENT IN THE TANK, LINES OR CARBURETOR BOWL.
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: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,257 hours in all; 508 in this make and model; 120 in the last 90 days; 40 in the last 30 days; 1,113 as pilot in command; 175 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rear
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,781 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, June 1, 1988; 58 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,300 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental C-90-8F (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: dusk
- Wind: from 240° at 3 knots
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 10,000 ft
- Temperature: 91°F (33°C), dew point 57°F (14°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 4:51 am from INL, 16 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 |
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.
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.