N798L

On January 16, 2025, about 1700 central standard time, an American Champion Aircraft 7ECA airplane, N798L sustained substantial damage when it was involved in an accident near Longview, Texas. The flight instructor and the student pilot were not injured. The airplane was operated as a Title 14 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 91 instructional flight.

The purpose of the flight was for the flight instructor and the student pilot to practice soft field landings. There were no concerns noted with the airplane during the preflight inspection. The airplane departed from the East Texas Regional Airport (GGG), Longview, Texas, at 1548. The flight instructor performed a soft field landing to the grass at the Kilgore Airport (4TX6), Kilgore, Texas. The airplane departed 4TX6 and flew to the Gladewater Municipal Airport (07F), Gladewater, Texas. The student pilot performed a soft field landing to runway 32. The airplane departed 07F and returned to GGG. During the approach to runway 18, the student pilot, with the flight instructor “shadowing” the flight controls, performed a “constant forward slip down” to the runway and landed without further incident. The student pilot then taxied to the ramp where the airplane was shutdown.

A second flight instructor and student pilot then completed a preflight inspection before their planned instructional flight. During their preflight inspection, the lower hinge for the rudder was found fractured from the vertical spar tube, which resulted in substantial damage. The lower rudder hinge hardware was intact and secured in place.

The airplane, known as a Citabria, was operated by LeTourneau University, as part of their 14 CFR Part 141 flight training program. The airplane, serial number 1393-2005, was manufactured in 2005 and is equipped with a Lycoming Engines O-235-K2 reciprocating engine and a Sensenich Propeller Company 72CKS8-0-52 fixed pitch aluminum propeller. The LeTourneau University College of Aviation and Aeronautical Science is based at GGG, and they operate nine American Champion Aircraft 7ECA airplanes, in addition to other make and model airplanes. According to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) registration records, LeTourneau University purchased the airplane directly from the American Champion Aircraft Corporation, on April 8, 2005.

At the time of the accident, the airframe had accumulated 8,512.6 hours. The most recent airframe inspection, a 100-hour inspection, occurred on November 12, 2024, and 59.4 hours had elapsed since that inspection. The rudder, part number 4-1698, had accumulated 8,420,7 hours when the failure occurred. According to the operator, the rudder has been repaired twice prior to the accident.

After the accident, the operator grounded their entire fleet and conducted an inspection of the upper and lower rudder hinges, including utilizing a 10x magnifying glass and a dye penetrant inspection. No fractures were identified in their rest of their fleet. The fractured rudder and the fractured lower rudder hinge were transported to the NTSB Materials Laboratory in Washington, District of Columbia, for examination.

The operator has implemented a removal requirement of the rudder at each 100-hour inspection for their fleet and to utilize a 10x magnifying glass to inspect for fractures. Additionally, at 300 hours, they implemented a dye penetrant inspection requirement for the upper and lower rudder hinges.

On April 15, 2024, the accident airplane sustained substantial damage to the right wing during an instructional flight. The airplane was repaired and later returned to service on September 10, 2024. The NTSB case number was CEN24LA171.

On April 12, 2024, a second American Champion Aircraft 7ECA airplane, N793L, sustained similar damage. The airplane was also operated by LeTourneau University. The accident is currently under investigation. The NTSB case number is CEN24LA162.

The FAA Type Certificate for the airplane, A-759, is held by the American Champion Aircraft Corporation, in Rochester, Wisconsin.