Champion 7KCAB accident near Rayville, Louisiana, July 29, 2000
On July 29, 2000 at about 3:00 pm local time, a Champion 7KCAB, registered N2978G, was substantially damaged in an accident near Rayville, Louisiana (John H Hooks JR. Memorial airport). It was an instructional 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 flight instructor's failure to maintain directional control. A factor was the wind gusts.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 29, 2000 · about 3:00 pm local time
- Place
- Rayville, Louisiana · John H Hooks JR. Memorial · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Champion 7KCAB · all 7KCABs on the register
- Registration
- N2978G · no longer on the register · serial 70
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The flight instructor was demonstrating a normal landing to the south in a tailwheel-equipped aircraft. The pilot made a 3-point touchdown with a 'light crosswind.' The airplane rolled 300-400 feet down the runway, and when the airplane was abeam a tree line, a gust of wind veered the airplane toward the right edge of the runway. The flight instructor attempted to correct for the wind gust; however, his 'heel slid off of the heel brake.' The flight instructor 'held full rudder and got back on brake too late.' The airplane exited the right side of the runway, and subsequently impacted a ditch. The pilot added that the wind was out of the southwest at 10 knots, gusting to 18 knots.
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: single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 4,400 hours in all; 500 in this make and model; 70 in the last 90 days; 42 in the last 30 days; 4,300 as pilot in command; 784 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rear
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,565 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, July 22, 2000; 10 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,214 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming IO-320-E2A (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: M79 at 1:30 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 18, 3,699 ft by 75 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 225° at 10 knots, gusting 18
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 90°F (32°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
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.
Other NTSB records under N2978G 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.