Champion 7ECA accident near Oxnard, California, December 26, 1999
On December 26, 1999 at about 7:20 pm local time, a Champion 7ECA, registered N8395V, was substantially damaged in an accident near Oxnard, California (Oxnard Airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's inadequate compensation for the variable crosswind condition and subsequent failure to maintain directional control of the airplane.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- December 26, 1999 · about 7:20 pm local time
- Place
- Oxnard, California · Oxnard Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Champion 7ECA · all 7ECAs on the register
- Registration
- N8395V · registry record · serial 530
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The aircraft veered off the runway while landing in a crosswind and collided with an airport sign and a berm. The pilot was on her first unsupervised solo flight in a tail wheel airplane. She had just completed over 7 hours of flight instruction in the accident airplane. The pilot had departed runway 7 and was going to practice touch and go's. The flight instructor, who witnessed the accident, said her approach to landing appeared very normal and the level off and flare to touchdown appeared normal. Upon touchdown and rollout, the flight instructor noticed the airplane's right wing rise and it appeared the pilot performed corrective inputs to lower it. He said he then noticed the airplane turn slightly to the right and watched the right wing rise again, followed immediately by the airplane veering sharply to the left. The pilot said she noticed the windsock as she exited the airplane and it showed the wind was 90 degrees to the runway from approximately 160 degrees.
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: 100 hours in all; 16 in this make and model; 24 in the last 90 days; 12 in the last 30 days; 45 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 786 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, June 15, 1999; 39 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,650 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 7, 5,950 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 060° at 21 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 156°F (69°C), dew point 86°F (30°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 7:51 pm from OXR, 1 miles away
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.
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.