NTSB: On July 4, 2015, about 1420 central daylight time, a Champion 7BCM, N10497, sustained substantial damage when it impacted the 16th-tee box of the Northshore Gulf Course located in Portland, Texas, while maneuvering at a low altitude. 2 killed.

 

NTSB Identification: CEN15FA291

14 CFR Part 91: General Aviation

Accident occurred Saturday, July 04, 2015 in Portland, TX

Aircraft: CHAMPION 7BCM, registration: N10497

Injuries: 2 Fatal.

 

On July 4, 2015, about 1420 central daylight time, a Champion 7BCM, N10497, sustained substantial damage when it impacted the 16th-tee box of the Northshore Gulf Course located in Portland, Texas, while maneuvering at a low altitude. The pilot and passenger received fatal injuries. The airplane was owned by a private individual and operated by the pilot under the provisions of the 14 Code of Federal Regulations Part 91 as a personal flight. Day visual meteorological conditions prevailed at the time of the accident and no flight plan was filed.The flight's origination and destination are unknown.

Witnesses reported seeing the airplane flying at a low altitude before the airplane impacted the terrain in a steep, nose down attitude. The engine compartment, fuselage, wings, and empennage remained intact and there was no post impact ground fire. The propeller and engine compartment were crushed up and aft from the impact. The wings remained attached to the fuselage and exhibited crushing on the underside of the leading edges. The right wing was broken and buckled forward about mid-span; it impacted the edge of the tee box where the terrain dropped down about 3 feet. 

The ailerons remained attached to the wings. The tail and empennage exhibited forward buckling. There was no impact damage to the horizontal and vertical stabilizers. Flight control cable continuity was confirmed from all flight control surfaces to their respective cockpit controls. The elevator trim continuity was confirmed from the elevator trim to the elevator trim control. Witnesses, who arrived at the accident site before the emergency first responders arrived, reported that they saw fuel leaking from the wings and smelled fuel. The grass was examined about 48-hours after the accident occurred and it exhibited fuel blight.

The examination of the Continental 95-horsepower engine revealed that it had power train continuity when the propeller was turned. Thumb compression and suction were observed. The left and right magnetos fired on all four towers when the magneto shaft was rotated. The spark plugs exhibited a light gray color and the electrodes exhibited normal wear patterns. The carburetor was broken at the air intake attachment. The carburetor bowl did not contain fuel and the carburetor floats were intact.

The examination of the two-bladed wooden Sensinech propeller revealed that one blade was fractured about mid-span. About six to ten inches of the remaining wooden blade was splintered opposite the direction of travel. The other blade remained intact, but it was cracked along the length of the span. The leading edge of the blade had a metal cap on it and it exhibited chordwise scratching.

The 1356 surface weather observation at the Corpus Christi Naval Air Station (NGP) located about 11 miles to the south the accident site was: wind 150 degrees at 18 knots gusting to 25 knots; 10 miles visibility; few clouds at 2,100 feet; scattered clouds at 4,000 feet; temperature 31 degrees C; dew point 26 degrees C; altimeter 29.99 inches of mercury. 

This is preliminary information, subject to change, and may contain errors. Any errors in this report will be corrected when the final report has been completed. NTSB investigators either traveled in support of this investigation or conducted a significant amount of investigative work without any travel, and used data obtained from various sources to prepare this aircraft accident report.