Champion 7KCAB accident near Hill City, Kansas, July 18, 1993
On July 18, 1993 at about 4:32 pm local time, a Champion 7KCAB, registered N11AT, was destroyed in an accident near Hill City, Kansas (Hill City Municipal airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 2 people were killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the loss of engine power for an undetermined reason and the pilot's decision to continue flying the airplane with known deficiencies. Factors in the accident are the lack of suitable terrain available for a forced landing, the airplane's low altitude, and the pilot's inadvertent stall of the airplane.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 18, 1993 · about 4:32 pm local time
- Place
- Hill City, Kansas · Hill City Municipal · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Champion 7KCAB · all 7KCABs on the register
- Registration
- N11AT · registry record · serial 279-70
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
WITNESSES REPORTED THE ACCIDENT AIRPLANE MADE A LOW PASS FROM NORTH TO SOUTH ALONG THE RUNWAY, AND DROPPED THE BANNER IT WAS TOWING. THEY STATED THE PILOT ADDED POWER AND BEGAN A LEFT CLIMBING TURN. WITNESSES ESTIMATED THE AIRPLANE WAS BETWEEN 50 AND 150 FEET ABOVE THE GROUND WHEN THE ENGINE SPUTTERED AND QUIT. THE AIRPLANE ENTERED A STEEP LEFT TURN, AND PITCHED NOSE DOWN TO THE GROUND. WITNESSES STATED THE AIRPLANE HAD BEEN TOWING BANNERS OVERHEAD THROUGHOUT THE MORNING. THEY REPORTED THE ENGINE SEEMED TO BE CONSISTENTLY RUNNING ROUGH, COUGHING AND SPUTTERING. POSTACCIDENT EXAMINATION AND ENGINE RUNUP REVEALED NO EVIDENCE OF PREIMPACT MECHANICAL ANOMALY.
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
- Flight time: 1,800 hours in all
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,130 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, October 5, 1992; 29 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,650 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming IO-320-E2A (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 090° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 15 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 15,000 ft; scat at 1,700 ft
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 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.
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 CHI93LA260.