American Champion (Acac) 8KCAB accident near Oroville, California, October 10, 2005
On October 10, 2005 at about 9:35 pm local time, a American Champion (Acac) 8KCAB, registered N943D, was destroyed in an accident near Oroville, California (Oroville Municipal airport). It was an instructional flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 2 people were killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The certified flight instructor and the private pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed while attempting a return to runway maneuver, which resulted in an inadvertent stall.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 10, 2005 · about 9:35 pm local time
- Place
- Oroville, California · Oroville Municipal · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- American Champion (Acac) 8KCAB
- Registration
- N943D · no longer on the register · serial 906-2002
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Instructional flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
Seconds after takeoff during an instructional flight, the airplane stalled and impacted into an open field about 0.2 miles from the runway's departure end. The purpose of the flight was for the certified flight instructor (CFI) to provide the private certificated pilot instruction in unusual attitude maneuvers including in-flight loss of control and engine failure after takeoff with a return to runway landing. Ground witnesses observed the airplane in its initial takeoff climb at a 45-degree nose up attitude reach about 650 feet above ground level (agl), whereupon it stalled, banked sharply left, and then "fell out of the sky." Thereafter, it descended in a nose down attitude to ground impact while reversing direction. The accident site and wreckage examination revealed the airplane impacted the ground in a near level flight attitude. Insufficient altitude existed for the CFI to fully recover from the incipient spin/stall. A post impact ground fire destroyed the airplane. The airframe and engine were examined, and no evidence of any mechanical malfunction or control system disconnect was found.
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: airline transport pilot, flight instructor
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 6,600 hours in all; 200 in this make and model
- Last flight review: January 1, 2005
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: rear
- Injury: fatal
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 924 hours in all; 10 in this make and model; 30 in the last 90 days; 10 in the last 30 days
- Last flight review: November 1, 2004
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (with waivers/limitations)
- Seat: frt
- Injury: fatal
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 325 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection, September 1, 2005; 20 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,800 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming AEIO-360-H1B (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
- Operator: Alpine Aviation, Inc.
The flight
- Departed from: OVE Oroville CA at 9:34 pm
- Destination: OVE Oroville CA
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 12, 3,540 ft by 100 ft
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 160° at 9 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 81°F (27°C), dew point 39°F (4°C)
- Altimeter: 29.94 inHg
- Observation at 9:53 pm from OVE, 1 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.