American Champion Aircraft 7ECA N798L accident near Lakeport, Texas

Probable cause

The student pilot’s failure to maintain adequate airspeed during the final approach, which resulted in an inadvertent aerodynamic stall. Contributing to the accident the flight instructor’s delayed remedial action.

NTSB analysis

The student pilot reported that, during the eleventh landing, they did not correct for a decreasing airspeed and stalled the airplane about 5 to 10 ft above the runway surface. The student pilot attempted to correct with throttle; however, the airplane dropped and impacted the runway hard on the right main landing gear followed by a ground swerve to the right then left. The right wing struck the runway which resulted in substantial damage to the right wing spar. The flight instructor reported that there were no preaccident mechanical failures or malfunctions with the airplane that would have precluded normal operation.

Text from the NTSB. Open the NTSB docket for CEN24LA171 for the full record.