Wednesday, December 28, 2022

American Champion 8GCBC, N749PJ: Accident occurred December 26, 2022 at Payson Airport (KPAN), Gila County, Arizona

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.

Investigator In Charge (IIC): Gutierrez, Eric

The National Transportation Safety Board did not travel to the scene of this accident.

Additional Participating Entity:
Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; Scottsdale, Arizona 

AGL Aviation and Management LLC


Location: Payson, Arizona 
Accident Number: WPR23LA075
Date and Time: December 26, 2022, 11:55 Local
Registration: N749PJ
Aircraft: AMERICAN CHAMPION AIRCRAFT 8GCBC 
Injuries: 1 None
Flight Conducted Under: Part 91: General aviation - Personal

Aircraft and Owner/Operator Information

Aircraft Make: AMERICAN CHAMPION AIRCRAFT
Registration: N749PJ
Model/Series: 8GCBC 
Aircraft Category: Airplane
Amateur Built:
Operator: On file
Operating Certificate(s) Held: None
Operator Designator Code:

Meteorological Information and Flight Plan

Conditions at Accident Site: VMC
Condition of Light: Day
Observation Facility, Elevation: KPAN, 5158 ft msl 
Observation Time: 11:55 Local
Distance from Accident Site: 0 Nautical Miles 
Temperature/Dew Point: 17°C /-4°C
Lowest Cloud Condition: Clear
Wind Speed/Gusts, Direction: / ,
Lowest Ceiling: None
Visibility: 10 miles
Altimeter Setting: 30.26 inches Hg 
Type of Flight Plan Filed:
Departure Point: Payson, AZ
Destination: Payson, AZ

Wreckage and Impact Information

Crew Injuries: 1 None
Aircraft Damage: Substantial
Passenger Injuries:
Aircraft Fire: None
Ground Injuries: 
Aircraft Explosion: None
Total Injuries: 1 None
Latitude, Longitude: 34.256836,-111.33925

While landing aircraft lost control and damaged wing and fuselage. 

Date: 26-DEC-22
Time: 18:55:00Z
Regis#: N749PJ
Aircraft Make: American Champion 
Aircraft Model: 8GCBC
Event Type: ACCIDENT
Highest Injury: NONE
Flight Crew: 1 No Injuries 
Pax: 0
Aircraft Missing: No
Damage: SUBSTANTIAL
Activity: PERSONAL
Flight Phase: LANDING (LDG)
Operation: 91
City: PAYSON
State: ARIZONA

Embraer Phenom 100, N717RS: Incident occurred December 27, 2022 at Indianapolis International Airport (KIND), Marion County, Indiana

Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; Indianapolis, Indiana

While on final approach, aircraft hit birds and damaged deice boots on tail.  

JV Advisors LLC 


Date: 27-DEC-22
Time: 18:02:00Z
Regis#: N717RS
Aircraft Make: EMBRAER
Aircraft Model: EMB500
Event Type: INCIDENT
Highest Injury: NONE
Flight Crew: 1 No Injuries
Pax: 0
Aircraft Missing: No
Damage: MINOR
Activity: PERSONAL
Flight Phase: LANDING (LDG)
Operation: 91
Flight Number: FFL53
City: INDIANAPOLIS
State: INDIANA

Beech 35-C33 Debonair, N5494U: Incident occurred December 27, 2022 at Las Cruces International Airport (KLRU), Doña Ana County, New Mexico

Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; Albuquerque, New Mexico

Aircraft lost power while on approach to Las Cruces International Airport. 


Date: 27-DEC-22
Time: 18:21:00Z
Regis#: N5494U
Aircraft Make: BEECH
Aircraft Model: 35-C-33
Event Type: INCIDENT
Highest Injury: NONE
Flight Crew: 1 No Injuries
Pax: 0 
Aircraft Missing: No
Damage: UNKNOWN
Activity: PERSONAL
Flight Phase: APPROACH (APR)
Operation: 91
City: LAS CRUCES
State: NEW MEXICO

Cessna 177RG Cardinal, N177NC: Incident occurred December 27, 2022 at Donaldson Field Airport (KGYH), Greenville, South Carolina

Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; Columbia, South Carolina

Aircraft landed on Runway 5 with the landing gear retracted.  


Date: 27-DEC-22
Time: 21:56:00Z
Regis#: N177NC
Aircraft Make: CESSNA
Aircraft Model: 177RG
Event Type: INCIDENT
Highest Injury: NONE
Flight Crew:  1 No Injuries
Pax: 1 No Injuries 
Aircraft Missing: No
Damage: UNKNOWN
Activity: PERSONAL
Flight Phase: LANDING (LDG)
Operation: 91
City: GREENVILLE
State: SOUTH CAROLINA

Piper PA-32RT-300, N528CW: Incident occurred December 27, 2022 near Easterwood Field Airport (KCLL), College Station, Brazos County, Texas

Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; Houston, Texas

Aircraft landed in a field due to engine failure. 


Date: 27-DEC-22
Time: 19:55:00Z
Regis#: N528CW
Aircraft Make: PIPER
Aircraft Model: PA32RT
Event Type: INCIDENT
Highest Injury: NONE
Flight Crew: 1 No Injuries
Pax:  0 
Aircraft Missing: No
Damage: UNKNOWN
Activity: PERSONAL
Flight Phase: EN ROUTE (ENR)
Operation: 91
City: COLLEGE STATION
State: TEXAS




COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KBTX) - The pilot of a small aircraft was forced to make an emergency landing Tuesday afternoon in a field near the Texas A&M University Health Science Center.

The Health Science Center is located along Highway 47 near Easterwood Airport in College Station.

The plane landed in a field west of the facility between Jones Road and Highway 47.

No injuries are reported.

Zachary Huff was working in the field herding cattle at the time of the landing and said the plane was quiet when it was coming down.

“I just happened to look over and see him coming. That’s the only way we saw it,” Huff said. “It never made a sound. Even when he landed.”

Huff was the first to make contact with the pilot immediately after the landing.

“We rode over there to him and he was shaking like a leaf, white as a ghost when we got to him.”

“He got out saying he was fine. He just lost power,” Huff said.

According to flight records, the Piper PA-32RT-300 departed Austin-Bergstrom International Airport and was scheduled to land at Easterwood Airport in College Station. The plane belongs to Borrel Rene Jean Luc from Marksville, Louisiana.




Cessna 172F Skyhawk, N8354U: Incident occurred December 27, 2022 at Lampasas Airport (KLZZ), Texas

Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; San Antonio, Texas

While attempting to land, the engine quit. Aircraft landed 200ft SSE of runway. 


Date: 27-DEC-22
Time: 00:00:00Z
Regis#: N8354U
Aircraft Make: CESSNA
Aircraft Model: 172
Event Type: INCIDENT
Highest Injury: NONE
Flight Crew: 1 No Injuries
Pax: 0
Aircraft Missing: No
Damage: UNKNOWN
Activity: PERSONAL
Flight Phase: LANDING (LDG)
Operation: 91
City: LAMPASAS
State: TEXAS

Gulfstream G200 Galaxy, N606HP: Incident occurred December 27, 2022 at Jackson Hole Airport (KJAC), Teton County, Wyoming

Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; Denver

As aircraft attempted to exit runway, it slid off runway damaging gear doors and runway lights.  

G200-116 LLC


Date: 27-DEC-22
Time: 18:04:00Z
Regis#: N606HP
Aircraft Make: IAI
Aircraft Model: GULFSTREAM 200
Event Type: INCIDENT
Highest Injury: NONE
Flight Crew:  2 No Injuries
Pax:  6 No Injuries
Aircraft Missing: No
Damage: MINOR
Activity: PERSONAL
Flight Phase: LANDING (LDG)
Operation: 91
City: JACKSON HOLE
State: WYOMING

JACKSON, Wyoming — At about 10:45 a.m. this morning, December 27, a Gulfstream G200 Galaxy slid into a snowbank shortly after landing at the Jackson Hole Airport.

The aircraft failed to execute the turn onto the southernmost taxiway exit, hitting an adjacent snowbank, Jackson Hole Airport Executive Director Jim Elwood confirmed to Buckrail.

Elwood explained that the incident caused the runway to close for about an hour due to safety concerns. Ground crews used machinery and also hand shoveled to clear snow around the aircraft. Straps were then attached to the landing gear to pull the jet out and back onto the hard surface.

Elwood confirmed that the incident caused a number of delays on top of the delays already underway due to the weather.

At the time, a number of planes were scheduled to land and at least one diverted to Salt Lake City for more fuel. “At least four aircraft were delayed,” Elwood said.

According to the Jackson Hole Airport website, 12 arriving commercial flights were late so far today and two have been canceled. For departures, another 12 flights are delayed and two have been canceled. Flights departing after 4:45 p.m. and flights arriving after 3:56 p.m. are listed as on time.

According to Elwood, there was no apparent damage to the Gulfstream G200 Galaxy and all eight occupants on board the aircraft were uninjured.

Elwood also noted that an aircraft that had landed just minutes before the G200 reported that braking was “good”, based on the amount of friction.

“We are expecting things to move back towards typical operations for this day,” Elwood said.

Beech A36 Bonanza, N3172D: Incident occurred December 28, 2022 at Pitt-Greenville Airport (KPGV), Greenville, Pitt County, North Carolina

Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; Greensboro, North Carolina

Landed Runway 20 with landing gear retracted.

North State Aviators LLC
Date: 28-DEC-22
Time: 19:46:00Z
Regis#: N3172D
Aircraft Make: BEECHCRAFT
Aircraft Model: A36
Event Type: INCIDENT
Highest Injury: NONE
Flight Crew: 1 No Injuries
Pax: 3 No Injuries
Aircraft Missing: No
Damage: UNKNOWN
Activity: PERSONAL
Flight Phase: LANDING (LDG)
Operation: 91
City: GREENVILLE
State: NORTH CAROLINA




GREENVILLE, North Carolina - No one was injured when a single-engine plane made an emergency landing this afternoon at the Pitt-Greenville Airport.

The airport was notified shortly after 2:00 p.m. that an aircraft was en route with malfunctioning landing gear.

The Beechcraft A36 Bonanza made a “wheels up” landing about 30 minutes later.

The aircraft was on its belly, surrounded by emergency vehicles on the airport’s main runway.

Airport Director Bill Hopper said the plane, which was coming from Sanford, had a pilot and three passengers onboard.

The plane first made a pass over the airport, according to the airport director, to confirm that the landing gear was in fact not down.

He said no one was injured and those in the aircraft had friends come to Greenville and fly them on to Raleigh.

Hopper said their main runway was closed, but that planes were still landing on PGV’s second runway. The main runway was able to reopen about two hours later.

The FAA says the aircraft is owned by North State Aviators, LLC, in Cary.

Stoddard-Hamilton Glasair Super II FT, N600: Fatal accident occurred December 26, 2022 near Wedderburn Airstrip, Australia

Aircraft crashed under unknown circumstances in Appin, Australia. Post crash fire consumed wreckage.


Date: 26-DEC-22
Time: 04:00:00Z
Regis#: N600
Aircraft Make: STODDARD HAMILTON
Aircraft Model: GLASAIR II
Event Type: ACCIDENT
Highest Injury: FATAL
Total Fatal: 2
Flight Crew: 1 Fatal
Pax: 1 Fatal 
Aircraft Missing: No
Damage: DESTROYED
Activity: PERSONAL
Flight Phase: APPROACH (APR)
Operation: 91
City: APPIN
Country: Australia 

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) Chief Commissioner Angus Mitchell says the investigation has begun.



Investigators are probing how a experimental aircraft crashed killing two on board in Sydney's south-west on Monday, as one of the worst years for light plane crashes draws to a close. 

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) Chief Commissioner Angus Mitchell said his crew had just arrived at the bushland crash site near Appin Road. 

The plane came down on Monday, when emergency services responding to reports of a scrub fire confirmed the two fatalities. 

Pilot Leigh Cunneen, 67, and his passenger, Steve Donoghue, 68, died in the crash.

"It's not a mass-production aircraft it was built essentially from a kit we know it came initially registered from the US," Mr. Mitchell said. 

"How many years it's been out here in Australia we are yet to determine.

"It's what we refer to as an experimental aircraft."

Initial inquiries suggest the aircraft took off from Temora in the state's Riverina region, according to NSW Police.

The foreign-registered  Stoddard-Hamilton Glasair Super II FT collided with terrain shortly before 3pm on Monday. 

Safety investigators were sent to the scene to examine the wreckage of the single-engine aircraft, flight information and weather conditions.

The crash sparked a 5-hectare bushfire that has since been extinguished.

Mr. Mitchell said it had been a particularly tragic Christmas for a number of families after his team were called out to another fatal small plane crash. 

"This is the second fatal aircraft accident we have deployed to in as many days," he said.

"Unfortunately this year has been one of the worst years on record for light plane fatalities, we're up to 23 fatal accidents this year."

Aviation expert Geoffrey Thomas said "do-it-yourself planes" are not uncommon, and are favored by sport enthusiast pilots.

"Are they as safe as a 747? No," Mr. Thomas said.

"They don't have all the electronics or landing aides or anything that a full-blown commercial aircraft has."

There have been 1,200 light-plane kits built in Australia in the last three decades.

The aircraft was severely damaged by the blaze, limiting the amount of physical evidence and electronic data for analysis.

Using a drone, the ATSB will map the site, creating a 3D picture to assist the investigators to better understand the flight profile of the aircraft just before the collision.

Investigators hope to recover any electronic equipment, such as iPhones and iPads, to help build a picture of what had occurred.

The ATSB said the available evidence would determine the size and scope of the investigation and the timeframe for completing its final report.

A report will be published after the investigation is completed, however should a critical safety issue be identified the ATSB will immediately notify relevant parties, Mr. Mitchell said. 

Transport safety investigators are expected to be at the site for at least the next few days, gathering evidence and interviewing witnesses.

Anyone who may have seen the aircraft, or has relevant footage, can contact atsb.gov.au/witness or Crime Stoppers by calling 1800 333 000 or visiting nsw.crimestoppers.com.au.




A experimental aircraft crashed in Sydney's south-west killing two people on board initially registered for the United States, according to the Australian Transport Safety Bureau.

An ATSB investigation is now underway to determine why the Stoddard-Hamilton Glasair Super II FT crashed in thick bushland near a private airport near Appin Road at Appin in Macarthur at 3pm on Boxing Day.

Pilot Leigh Cunneen, 67, and his passenger, Steve Donoghue, 68, died in the crash.

Cunneen was an accountant and landlord from Annandale in Sydney's inner west and was well known for his love of aviation.

News of his death has rocked the neighborhood where the father of four lived his whole life.

One neighbor, David Gardner, said he saw Cunneen a few days ago.

Eclipse 550, N146HA: Incident occurred December 28, 2022 in Irwin, Bonneville County, Idaho

Federal Aviation Administration / Flight Standards District Office; Salt Lake City 

On landing slid 150 yards off the end of Runway 31 at Alpine Airport (46U), Alpine, Wyoming. 

Destination Sky LLC 


Date: 28-DEC-22
Time: 16:50:00Z
Regis#: N146HA
Aircraft Make: ECLIPSE AEROSPACE INC
Aircraft Model: EA500
Event Type: INCIDENT
Highest Injury: NONE
Flight Crew:  2 No Injuries
Pax: 0
Aircraft Missing: No
Damage: MINOR
Activity: PERSONAL
Flight Phase: LANDING (LDG)
City: IRWIN
State: IDAHO



John Corr, 71, came across an odd sight Wednesday afternoon while on his daily cross-country ski excursion: A private plane submerged in the snow.

Corr said the Eclipse 550 was on Bureau of Land Management land, where his ski trail was, after crashing through the end-of-runway gates at the Alpine Airport. The two-engine aircraft eventually landed 100 yards out onto the BLM land.

“The concern of the neighbors was if the pilot was landing into the southern wind, either coming down to land or even taking off while the wind was coming from the south and you had a mishap, the pilot would potentially crash into a couple houses or into a neighborhood,” Corr said.

The airport, 35 miles from Jackson, is located within Alpine Airpark. The Airpark is a “fly-in community” set on the banks of the Palisades Reservoir, with 71 hangar homes, 25 stand-alone hangars, 130 residents and 126 planes.

Bonneville County, Idaho, Sheriff Sergeant Bryan Lovell responded to the scene at 9:40 a.m. Wednesday morning.

“I believe it was the pilot who called us,” Lovell said. “He had already called the Fire Department, and the ambulance in Alpine were already on their way. We were told there were no injuries, and emergency personnel confirmed that.”

Lovell said that although Alpine is in Wyoming, the end of the airport’s runway crosses the border into Bonneville County, prompting his agency’s response.

According to Lovell, the two people aboard the plane, the pilot and his wife, are Florida residents.

“The pilot was flying to Alpine from Colorado but originated in Florida,” Lovell said. “As he came down to land, there were some icy spots on the runway, and it sounds like he was trying to stop as he touched down and was having difficulty. He couldn’t get it back up in the air or stopped before he ran out of runway, so he went through the snowbank at the end and out into the snow, out into the Idaho side.”

Lovell said the couple was traveling to a residence at the airport at the time and reported only minor damage to the plane.

Lynn Ferguson, the airport manager, said at 3 p.m. Thursday that crews were still working to excavate the plane from the snow. He said the airport is meticulous about maintaining safe conditions on the runway.

“We’re on that runway every day, all day long, but we had that freezing rain the day before and then it froze up that night, and you can only do so much,” Ferguson said. “That runway condition can turn literally in a matter of 30 minutes.”

The incident happened nearly 24 hours after a private G200 jet slid into a snowbank shortly after landing at the Jackson Hole Airport, closing the runway for an hour.

The submerged plane in Alpine drew some oglers, Corr said.

“I skied all around the plane, and there were snowmobilers coming out,” he said. “It was a real curiosity for the neighborhood.”