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Atlas / NTSB / WPR13CA357

NTSB CAROL · Event

Event WPR13CA357

2013-08-02 Sonoma, California, United States Airport · 0Q9 None 1 aircraft Status: Completed

Registry · N4738E

FAA Aircraft Registry record.

Make / Model

CHAMPION 7EC

Year of manufacture

1950 · 63 years old at event

Engine

CONT MOTOR C90 SERIES (95 hp)

Seats / Engines

2 seats · 1 engine

Last airworthiness date

19840126

ADS-B equipped

Yes — Mode-S A5CFB4

Registrant of record

DETERT BRADLEY

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot's failure to maintain directional control during the landing roll.

Factual narrative

During a practice landing, the pilot lost directional control on the landing roll and drifted towards the right. The pilot did not act in a timely manner to prevent the airplane from departing the runway surface and the airplane subsequently struck foliage and sustained substantial damage to the wing. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. During a practice landing, the pilot lost directional control on the landing roll and drifted towards the right. The pilot did not act in a timely manner to prevent the airplane from departing the runway surface and the airplane subsequently struck foliage and sustained substantial damage to the wing. The pilot reported no preimpact mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation. 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 Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Directional control-Not attained/maintained - C

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2013_WPR13CA357.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.