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.
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
A loss of airplane control for undetermined reasons.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made November 2, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 24, 2021 · about 7:00 am local time · cases in 2021
- Place
- Bishop, California · Bishop · cases near this airport · 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
2 documents, released by the NTSB on February 7, 2022. View them here, or download them; the NTSB redacts some personal details before release, and this site shows the NTSB's own titles rather than its file names.
| # | Document | What it is | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pilot/operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 | PDF, 9 pages | View Download |
| 2 | Accident Pictures | PDF, 2 pages | View Download |
The same docket at the NTSB · documents without a copy here are fetched from the NTSB when you open them.
Other NTSB records under N701SA the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
Connections how this case links to the rest of the register
- N701SA on the register today · the tail number may have moved to another aircraft since
- Engine: Jabiru 2200A 26 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- Bishop Airport · nearest airport
- Accidents and incidents in California 9,080 since 1982 · 1,097 in the last ten years
- California 27,897 aircraft registered
- Other NTSB records under N701SA 1 records · the number may have belonged to another aircraft at the time
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/accident/WPR21LA366.json.
The bigger picture in Aviation Analytics: accidents over time since 1982, by model, by phase of flight and conditions, by place and on the map.
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 does not name anyone involved, its policy at this time. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.