American Champion Aircraft 8GCBC accident near Wallowa, Oregon, May 15, 2021
On May 15, 2021 at about 2:50 pm local time, a 2008 American Champion Aircraft 8GCBC, registered N101BC, was substantially damaged in an accident during landing (landing roll) near Wallowa, Oregon (Sluice Airstrip 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).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilots failure to maintain airplane control during the landing roll after experiencing a tailwind gust which required excessive braking and resulted in the airplane nosing over.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 15, 2021 · about 2:50 pm local time
- Place
- Wallowa, Oregon · Sluice Airstrip · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- American Champion Aircraft 8GCBC, built 2008 · all 8GCBCs on the register
- Registration
- N101BC · registry record · serial 511-2008
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot of the tailwheel-equipped airplane reported that, during the landing roll, the airplane encountered a strong tailwind gust, which caused the airplane to roll at a faster than normal speed. Due to obstacles at the end of the runway, the pilot applied harder brake pressure. The nose dipped down, and the airplane nosed over and came to rest inverted. The airplane sustained substantial damage to the rudder and vertical stabilizer.
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
What happened, in order
- Other weather encounter during approach (VFR pattern final)
- Nose over/nose down during landing (landing roll) defining event
The NTSB's findings
- Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability › Performance/control parameters › Surface speed/braking › Capability exceeded
- Personnel issues › Task performance › Use of equip/info › Aircraft control › Pilot
- Environmental issues › Conditions/weather/phenomena › Wind › Tailwind › Response/compensation
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 4,078 hours in all; 983 in this make and model; 16 in the last 90 days; 11 in the last 30 days; 4,078 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: November 29, 2019
- Medical certificate: BasicMed (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: frt
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,012 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, December 15, 2020
- Maximum gross weight: 1,750 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-360-C1G (piston); 1,012 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: Wallowa County OR at 3:35 pm
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 350° at 11 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 61°F (16°C), dew point 28°F (-2°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 8:51 am from MYL
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight 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.
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 WPR21LA196.