Aircraft Mfg & Dev. Co. (Amd) CH2000 accident near Chandler, Arizona, June 10, 2006
On June 10, 2006 at about 4:15 pm local time, a Aircraft Mfg & Dev. Co. (Amd) CH2000, registered N280AM, was substantially damaged in an accident near Chandler, Arizona (Stellar Airpark 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 student pilot's failure to maintain directional control and the instructor's delayed remedial actions, which resulted in a collision with terrain during the initial takeoff climb. The instructor's inadequate supervision of the flight was also causal.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 10, 2006 · about 4:15 pm local time
- Place
- Chandler, Arizona · Stellar Airpark · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Aircraft Mfg & Dev. Co. (Amd) CH2000
- Registration
- N280AM · registry record · serial 20-1041
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The airplane collided with terrain during the student pilot's attempted takeoff. During a soft-field takeoff with the airplane about 10 to 15 feet above ground level (agl), the student pilot increased the pitch attitude by raising the nose. The airplane yawed about 15 degrees to the right of the runway centerline and the certified flight instructor (CFI) momentarily waited for the student pilot to make corrective action. The airplane yawed an additional 15 degrees to the right before the CFI assumed the airplane controls. He applied left rudder and lowered the nose in an effort to maneuver the airplane back to the runway. The left wing and the tail impacted the ground, which the CFI believed was the main landing gear. The CFI continued the initial takeoff climb and shortly thereafter noticed the damage to the left wing. He returned to the airport for an uneventful landing. The CFI noted no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airframe or engine that would have precluded normal operation.
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
Flight instructor
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 856 hours in all; 67 in this make and model; 47 in the last 90 days; 27 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 2
Dual student
- Certificate: student
- Flight time: 22 hours in all; 20 in this make and model; 22 in the last 90 days; 9 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 3
The aircraft
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-235-N2C (piston); 0 hours total
- Operator: League Of Extraordinary Aviators, Inc.
The flight
- Departed from: P19 Chandler AZ
- Destination: P19 Chandler AZ
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 17, 3,913 ft by 60 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 25 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 1,500 ft
- Temperature: 91°F (33°C), dew point 48°F (9°C)
- Altimeter: 29.82 inHg
- Observation at 4:48 pm from CHD, 5 miles away
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.
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.