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Atlas / NTSB / CEN15CA061

NTSB CAROL · Event

Event CEN15CA061

2014-11-28 Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States Airport · KCOS None 1 aircraft Status: Completed

Registry · N274AC

FAA Aircraft Registry record.

Make / Model

AMERICAN CHAMPION AIRCRAFT 7EC

Year of manufacture

2007 · 7 years old at event

Engine

CONT MOTOR 0-200-A (100 hp)

Seats / Engines

2 seats · 1 engine

Last airworthiness date

20071023

ADS-B equipped

Yes — Mode-S A2B55B

Registrant of record

WELCH THOMAS R

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The loss of airplane control after encountering windshear.

Factual narrative

The sport pilot was performing touch and go landings on runway 17R. During the fourth landing a wind gust turned the airplane to the left. The pilot attempted to correct the track of the airplane with the application of right rudder, however, the airplane did not respond. The pilot added power to go around and the airplane clipped an airport sign. The airplane landed on the grass adjacent to the runway. An examination of the airplane revealed substantial damage to the firewall. The pilot stated that there were no mechanical anomalies with the airplane prior to the accident. He stated further that the winds were variable and low level windshear had been reported at the airport. The sport pilot was performing touch and go landings on runway 17R. During the fourth landing a wind gust turned the airplane to the left. The pilot attempted to correct the track of the airplane with the application of right rudder, however, the airplane did not respond. The pilot added power to go around and the airplane clipped an airport sign. The airplane landed on the grass adjacent to the runway. An examination of the airplane revealed substantial damage to the firewall. The pilot stated that there were no mechanical anomalies with the airplane prior to the accident. He stated further that the winds were variable and low level windshear had been reported at the airport. Source: NTSB Aviation Accident Database Retrieved: 2026-02-12

NTSB Findings

Hierarchical cause / factor breakdown from the FAA bulk avdata database. Each finding tagged C (Cause) or F (Factor).

  • C Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot - C
  • C Environmental issues-Conditions/weather/phenomena-Wind-Windshear-Effect on operation - C
  • C Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Directional control-Not attained/maintained - C

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2014_CEN15CA061.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.