American Champion (Acac) 7EC accident near Palmetto, Florida, August 12, 2006
On August 12, 2006, a American Champion (Acac) 7EC, registered N9898B, was substantially damaged in an accident near Palmetto, Florida (Manatee airport). It was a personal 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 failure to maintain airspeed while maneuvering which resulted in a stall.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 12, 2006
- Place
- Palmetto, Florida · Manatee
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- American Champion (Acac) 7EC
- Registration
- N9898B · no longer on the register · serial 7FC218
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot stated that he took off from runway 7, at Manatee Airport, performed a climbing right turn to make a 45-degree heading change to the right, and upon reaching 200 feet altitude initiated a descending left turn to 225 degrees, in an effort to reverse course and fly along runway 25. According to the pilot, in the turn the airplane became unresponsive about the roll axis, and the airplane continued the descent in a nose low, left wing low attitude. He said he applied full right aileron, full up elevator, and full right rudder control inputs, but was unable to arrest the rate of descent. The airplane impacted the ground in a slight left wing low nose low attitude. On August 12, 2006, an FAA inspector conducted a post accident examination of the airplane, and no preaccident anomalies were noted to exist.
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: airline transport pilot, flight instructor, commercial pilot, military
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,789 hours in all; 12 in this make and model; 101 in the last 90 days; 38 in the last 30 days; 1,685 as pilot in command; 794 on instruments
- Last flight review: July 1, 2006
- Medical certificate: Class 1
- Seat: frt
- Injury: minor injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 5,645 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, June 1, 2006; 18 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,450 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental C90-12F (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 48X Palmetto FL
- Destination: VDF Tampa FL
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 25, 3,603 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 060° at 3 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 10,000 ft; clear
- Temperature: 75°F (24°C), dew point 73°F (23°C)
- Altimeter: 30.04 inHg
- Observation at 11:53 pm from SRQ
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.