Amateur-built ZENITH STOL CH 701 accident near Bishop, California, September 24, 2021
On September 24, 2021 at about 7:00 am local time, a 2010 amateur-built ZENITH STOL CH 701, registered N701SA, was substantially damaged in an accident near Bishop, California (Bishop airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was conditions the NTSB did not record.
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
A loss of airplane control for undetermined reasons.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 24, 2021 · about 7:00 am local time
- Place
- Bishop, California · Bishop · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- conditions the NTSB did not record
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built ZENITH STOL CH 701, built 2010
- Registration
- N701SA · registry record · serial 7-6054
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
Law enforcement personnel reported that the owner/pilot reported that his airplane had been stolen. The night before, the pilot landed and parked his airplane at the airport’s transient parking area. The following morning, he noticed that his airplane had been moved and subsequently found it near runway 8, at taxiway A. The airplane was positioned nose down with the nose gear collapsed and the left wing substantially damaged consistent with a loss of airplane control. Law enforcement investigation subsequently led to the arrest of the individual who was involved in the unauthorized movement of the airplane.
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
- Security/criminal event during unknown defining event
The NTSB's findings
- Personnel issues › Task performance › Use of equip/info › Aircraft control › Other
- Not determined › Not determined › (general) › (general) › Unknown/Not determined
- Personnel issues › Miscellaneous › Intentional act › Stolen/unauthorized › Other
Other crew
- Medical certificate: Unknown
- Seat: unk
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 150.7 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, August 3, 2020
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Jabiru 2200A (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 08, 5,567 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: not reported
- Wind: from 350° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 66°F (19°C), dew point 25°F (-4°C)
- Altimeter: 30.13 inHg
- Observation at 11:56 pm from KBIH
Weather report (METAR): METAR KBIH 240656Z AUTO 35005KT 10SM CLR 19/M04 A3013 RMK AO2 SLP152 T01891039
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.
Other NTSB records under N701SA 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 WPR21LA366.