Champion 7ECA accident near Forest Lake, Minnesota, September 6, 1999
On September 6, 1999 at about 11:05 pm local time, a Champion 7ECA, registered N9549S, was substantially damaged in an accident near Forest Lake, Minnesota (Forest Lake airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person had minor injuries. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the pilot's misjudging the proper glidepath, and his not maintaining airspeed. Factors were the pilot's lack of recent experience, the airplane's inadvertent stall, and the fence.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 6, 1999 · about 11:05 pm local time
- Place
- Forest Lake, Minnesota · Forest Lake · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Champion 7ECA · all 7ECAs on the register
- Registration
- N9549S · registry record · serial 363
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot departed in the airplane with the intention of practicing short field takeoffs and landings. He said that he allowed the airplane to get too low and too slow to land on the runway. The airplane touched down short of the runway and the right wing impacted a fence. He wrote in his statement concerning his recommendation to prevent this accident, 'Pilot take some dual time to assure proficiency after a long layoff period when no flying was done.'
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: 143 hours in all; 141 in this make and model; 1 in the last 90 days; 1 in the last 30 days; 58 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 938 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, December 4, 1998; 2 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,650 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental O-200-A (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 25D at 10:30 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 13, 2,650 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 031° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 70°F (21°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 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 CHI99LA331.