Amateur-built COX-HAWK accident near Mebane, North Carolina, April 20, 1996
On April 20, 1996 at about 2:05 pm local time, a amateur-built COX-HAWK, registered N7VC, was destroyed in an accident near Mebane, North Carolina. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was seriously injured. The weather was instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's inadvertent flight into instrument meteorological conditions in an airplane not equipped with appropriate instrumentation which led to the pilot's inability to maintain control and spatial disorientation. In addition, during an attemped recovery from the loss of control, the airplane exceeded Vne which resulted in failure of the aileron flight control system and flying wires. Contributing to the accident was the failure of the pilot to obtain a preflight weather briefing and the unsuitable terrain encountered during the forced landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 20, 1996 · about 2:05 pm local time
- Place
- Mebane, North Carolina · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured.
- Weather
- instrument conditions (cloud, fog or low visibility)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built COX-HAWK
- Registration
- N7VC · registry record · serial A001
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
During cruise flight the pilot encountered adverse weather ahead. He initiated a 180-degree turn but inadvertently entered clouds. The pilot became spatially disoriented and the airplane began descending with the airspeed increasing beyond Vne. The aileron system then failed and 2 of the 6 flying wires for the left wing also failed. The flight descended below the base of the clouds about 1,300 feet above ground level and the pilot made a forced landing into a field. After touchdown in a rough field the airplane cartwheeled and came to rest upright. The pilot did not obtain a weather briefing before takeoff, and the airplane was not equipped with instruments for controlling the airplane without reference to terrain.
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: commercial pilot, private
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; single-engine sea; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 8,000 hours in all; 2,000 in this make and model; 50 in the last 90 days; 20 in the last 30 days; 8,000 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: ctr
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 170 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, March 15, 1996; 22 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,650 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming IO-540 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: NC81 Apex NC at 1:45 pm
- Destination: MTV Martinsville VA
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 220° at 14 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: overcast at 2,200 ft; not recorded
- Temperature: 68°F (20°C), dew point 63°F (17°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 1:56 pm from RDU, 26 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.
Other NTSB records under N7VC the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number MIA96LA123.