Amateur-built CH-701 accident near Mount Pleasant, North Carolina, August 21, 1999
On August 21, 1999 at about 11:30 pm local time, a amateur-built CH-701, registered N4394S, was substantially damaged in an accident near Mount Pleasant, North Carolina (Bear Creek Airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was seriously injured. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The failure of the pilot to apply sufficient right rudder input during the go-around following a bounced landing and his failure to maintain runway alignment resulting in the in-flight collision with trees 100-150 yards to the left of the runway.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 21, 1999 · about 11:30 pm local time
- Place
- Mount Pleasant, North Carolina · Bear Creek Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built CH-701
- Registration
- N4394S · registry record · serial 73231
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot spent 5 years building the airplane which was signed off 4 days earlier by the FAA for 40 hours test phase. He had flown the airplane 2 previous times that day, each for 30 minutes. The accident flight departed, then returned to the airport and he stated that he was landing using runway 21 for the first time. He was on a long, low, final approach, and the airplane bounced twice and headed towards a corn field. He applied full power to go-around but the airplane collided with the tops of trees adjacent to the field, then the ground. A witness reported seeing the airplane on a low approach and believed the airplane would land short of the runway. He heard power applied and the airplane cleared a road near the approach end of the runway, then heard power decreased and observed the nose landing gear contact. The airplane bounced, he then heard power applied then reduced, and the airplane bounced again. He then heard power applied, observed the airplane turn to the left, and collide with trees. Examination of the site by an FAA inspector revealed the airplane collided with trees 100-150 yards south of the runway.
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: 113 hours in all; 4 in this make and model; 37 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 4 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded
- Maximum gross weight: 960 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Rotax 912 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: N44 at 11:00 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 21, 2,080 ft by 85 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 77°F (25°C), dew point 59°F (15°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 11:54 pm from CLT, 31 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.