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Atlas / NTSB / WPR22LA074

NTSB CAROL · Event

Event WPR22LA074

2022-01-01 Jordan Valley, Oregon, United States Airport · NA None 1 aircraft Status: Completed

Registry · N58BH

FAA Aircraft Registry record.

Make / Model

AMERICAN CHAMPION AIRCRAFT 8GCBC

Year of manufacture

2015 · 7 years old at event

TCDS

A21CE · AMERICAN CHAMPION AIRCRAFT CORP

Engine

LYCOMING O-360-C1G (180 hp)

Seats / Engines

2 seats · 1 engine

Last airworthiness date

20150701

ADS-B equipped

Yes — Mode-S A773B0

Registrant of record

PIERSON TED

Source: FAA Aircraft Registry (releasable master file).

Aircraft involved

Probable cause & findings

The pilot’s decision to takeoff on remote snow covered terrain which, resulted in a nose-over.

Factual narrative

The pilot of the tailwheel equipped airplane reported that during the takeoff roll on snow-covered desert terrain, the airplane broke through the snow, and nosed over. The vertical stabilizer and rudder were substantially damaged. The pilot reported that there were no preaccident 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).

  • Personnel issues-Action/decision-Info processing/decision-Decision making/judgment-Pilot
  • Aircraft-Aircraft oper/perf/capability-Performance/control parameters-Directional control-Not attained/maintained
  • Personnel issues-Task performance-Use of equip/info-Aircraft control-Pilot
  • Environmental issues-Physical environment-Runway/land/takeoff/taxi surface-Snow/slush/ice covered surface-Effect on operation

Verbatim from NTSB's published report. Source file NTSB_2022_WPR22LA074.txt. Findings + structured fields enriched from FAA avall.mdb. Full investigation docket on data.ntsb.gov ↗.