Champion 7ECA accident near Pembroke Pines, Florida, October 5, 2019
On October 5, 2019 at about 8:09 pm local time, a 1967 Champion 7ECA, registered N2561G, was substantially damaged in an accident during maneuvering near Pembroke Pines, Florida. It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 2 people were seriously injured. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot’s failure to relinquish the airplane controls to the instructor during a power-off stall maneuver, which prevented the instructor’s recovering from the stall.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 5, 2019 · about 8:09 pm local time
- Place
- Pembroke Pines, Florida · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were seriously injured.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Champion 7ECA No Series, built 1967 · all 7ECAs on the register
- Registration
- N2561G · no longer on the register · serial 439
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
During a training flight, the pilot receiving instruction “froze on the controls” during a demonstration of a power-off stall. He did not respond to the flight instructor’s commands to release the controls, and the instructor was unable to overpower the pilot’s control inputs. The airplane remained in a stall condition, descended, impacted marshland, and sustained substantial damage to the wings and forward fuselage. The airplane’s altitude at the start of the descent was not captured by radar data; however, the airplane had previously been flying at altitudes of 100 to 500 ft mean sea level in the practice area about 1.5 minutes before radar altitude data was lost.
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
- Aerodynamic stall/spin during maneuvering defining event
The NTSB's findings
- Personnel issues › Task performance › Use of equip/info › Aircraft control › Pilot
- Personnel issues › Task performance › Communication (personnel) › Following instructions › Pilot
Flight instructor
- Certificate: airline transport pilot, flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; multi-engine sea; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: gyroplane; instructor: helicopter; instructor: instrument airplane; instructor: instrument helicopter; instrument: airplane; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: glider; rotorcraft: gyroplane; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 15,400 hours in all; 2,000 in this make and model; 120 in the last 90 days; 40 in the last 30 days; 5,200 as pilot in command; 8,000 on instruments
- Last flight review: May 28, 2019
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: rear
- Injury: serious injuries
Pilot-Rated Passenger
- Certificate: commercial pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 343 hours in all; 137 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2
- Seat: frt
- Injury: serious injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4,100 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, January 1, 2019
- Maximum gross weight: 1,650 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-235-C1 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: HWO Hollywood FL at 7:55 pm
- Flight plan: none
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 090° at 15 knots, gusting 22
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 88°F (31°C), dew point 72°F (22°C)
- Altimeter: 29.90 inHg
- Observation at 7:53 pm from HWO, 12 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 2 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
8 documents, released by the NTSB on November 18, 2021. View them here, or download them; the NTSB redacts some personal details before release, and this site shows the NTSB's own titles rather than its file names.
| # | Document | What it is | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pilot/operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 | PDF, 9 pages | View Download |
| 2 | Memorandum for Record - Contact with the Pilot Receiving Instruction | PDF, 2 pages | View Download |
| 3 | Memorandum for Record - Information from FAA Inspector | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
| 4 | radar Data - Plot | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
| 5 | radar Data - Tabular | spreadsheet | Download |
| 6 | Investigative Photographs | PDF, 4 pages | View Download |
| 7 | Memorandum for Record - Wreckage Examination | PDF, 2 pages | View Download |
| 8 | Release of Aircraft Wreckage, NTSB Form 6120.15 | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
The same docket at the NTSB · documents without a copy here are fetched from the NTSB when you open them.
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.