Champion 7GCAA accident near Gallup, New Mexico, December 23, 2007
On December 23, 2007, a Champion 7GCAA, registered N8305V, was substantially damaged in an accident near Gallup, New Mexico (Gallup Municipal airport). 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).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's premature landing flare and an inadvertent stall/mush. A contributing factor is pilot's lack of recent night experience.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 23, 2007
- Place
- Gallup, New Mexico · Gallup Municipal · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Champion 7GCAA · all 7GCAAs on the register
- Registration
- N8305V · registry record · serial 98
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
According to the pilot, during the night landing he flared too high, the airplane stalled, and impacted the runway with the nose canted to the right. He said that he added power in attempt to straighten the airplane, but the airplane departed the runway to the right, traveled through a ditch and nosed over, resulting in substantial damage. The pilot reported no anomalies with the airplane systems. He stated he was not night current, and did not hold a valid medical certificate.
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: 5 hours in all; 5 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: None
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded
- Seats: 3
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: CDC Cedar City UT at 10:30 pm
- Destination: GUP Gallup NM
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 6, 7,316 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night
- Wind: from 230° at 3 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 25°F (-4°C), dew point 12°F (-11°C)
- Altimeter: 30.30 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 N8305V the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.