Champion 7FC accident near Moriarty, New Mexico, July 31, 2025
On July 31, 2025 at about 2:40 pm local time, a 1961 Champion 7FC, registered N50778, was substantially damaged in an accident during landing near Moriarty, New Mexico (Moriarty Muni 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).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot’s improper landing flare, which resulted in a hard landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made November 2, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 31, 2025 · about 2:40 pm local time · cases in 2025
- Place
- Moriarty, New Mexico · Moriarty Muni · cases near this airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Champion 7FC, built 1961 · all 7FCs on the register
- Registration
- N50778 · registry record · serial 432
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot reported he was practicing landings and he intentionally flew slow on the approach to landing. The pilot said that during the landing flare, he forgot to focus on the horizon, and the airplane was high, and it stalled. Subsequently the airplane landed hard, which resulted in substantial damage to the fuselage. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident mechanical malfunctions or failures with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.
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
- Hard landing during landing defining event
The NTSB's findings
- Aircraft › Aircraft oper/perf/capability › Performance/control parameters › Landing flare › Not attained/maintained
- Personnel issues › Task performance › Use of equip/info › Aircraft control › Pilot
Pilot
- Certificate: commercial pilot
- Ratings: single-engine land; rotorcraft: glider
- Flight time: 1,490 hours in all; 148 in this make and model; 873 as pilot in command; 260 on instruments
- Last flight review: October 24, 2024
- Medical certificate: Class 3
- Seat: frt
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,780 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, February 2, 2025; 96 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,500 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental C90 (piston); 3,780 hours total
The flight
- Runway 08/2, 7,702 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear at 12,000 ft
- Temperature: 68°F (20°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
- Altimeter: 30.24 inHg
- Observation at 8:25 am from 0E0
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
3 documents, released by the NTSB on January 9, 2026. 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 | Record of Conversation - Pilot | PDF, 1 page | View Download |
| 2 | Pilot/operator Aircraft Accident Report, NTSB Form 6120.1 | PDF, 11 pages | View Download |
| 3 | Photos | PDF, 5 pages · our copy | View Download |
The same docket at the NTSB · documents without a copy here are fetched from the NTSB when you open them.
Connections how this case links to the rest of the register
- N50778 on the register today · the tail number may have moved to another aircraft since
- Champion 7 Citabria and Champ 1,452 registered today · the model family and its accident history
- Champion 1,604 aircraft on the register
- Engine: Continental C90 2,149 aircraft carry this series today · as the NTSB recorded it
- Moriarty Municipal · nearest airport
- Accidents and incidents in New Mexico 1,423 since 1982 · 184 in the last ten years
- New Mexico 3,111 aircraft registered
The whole map of how records connect · these connections as data: /graph/accident/WPR25LA242.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.