NTSB Investigates Deadly Weekend Crash in Alabama

One fatality reported after takeoff incident.

NTSB Investigates Deadly Weekend Crash in Alabama
[Credit: FAA]
Gemini Sparkle

Key Takeaways:

  • The NTSB is investigating a private aircraft crash near Bayou La Batre, Alabama, which occurred on Saturday and resulted in the death of the sole pilot.
  • The incident involved an American Champion 8KCAB aircraft, with unconfirmed reports suggesting it may have stalled on departure from Roy E. Ray Airport.
  • Notably, the same aircraft (registered as N157WB) was previously involved in a 2017 incident where it veered off a runway during landing, sustaining damage.
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The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is investigating a private aircraft crash that occurred near Bayou La Batre in southwestern Alabama on Saturday.

According to a social media post by the NTSB on Saturday, the incident involved an American Champion 8KCAB aircraft.

The Mobile County Sheriff’s Office confirmed the aircraft’s sole pilot was killed in the crash, according to local reporting. Fox10TV reported that the crash happened in a wooded area near Roy E. Ray Airport.

The Aviation Safety Network cited unconfirmed reports that the aircraft, registered as N157WB, may have stalled on departure from the airport.

The same aircraft was investigated in 2017 following another incident where the aircraft veered off a runway during landing in Ferguson, Florida, and sustained damage to its empennage and right wing lift strut.

No further information has been provided by the NTSB amid ongoing investigation.

Caleb Revill

Caleb Revill is a journalist, writer and lifelong learner working as a Junior Writer for Firecrown. When he isn't tackling breaking news, Caleb is on the lookout for fascinating feature stories.

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Replies: 5

  1. The author needs to learn the difference between “incident” and “accident” with regards to the FAA and aviation. It’s not an “incident” when someone dies.
    Why hire aviation writers who know nothing about aviation?!?

  2. Had there been an editor with any experience in aviation involved, his copy would have been corrected to “an incident”. But this is the “new” AvWeb; we should be grateful that they don’t publish recipes, people could die.

  3. I think you missed my point, and are just as unaware of the misnomer as the author.
    If someone dies, or there is substantial damage to property, or someone suffers serious injury, it no longer qualifies as merely an incident, and is considered an accident.

    Read 49 CFR 830.2 (or any credible info source on the web) to learn the difference. It was part of your basic Private Pilot training!

  4. No, I think you didn’t understand the minimal editorial correction I made:
    The original prose was, “The same aircraft was investigated in 2017 following another incident where the aircraft veered off a runway …”

    By merely replacing “another” with “an”, I corrected the prose to reference the other, true, “incident” without conflating it with the actual “accident” described in the article.

    I have been a pilot, aircraft owner, and editor since the late '60s. It’s entirely possible that I have understood the contents of 49CFR830.2 longer than you’ve been alive.

  5. Got it.
    I was referring to the original use of the word “incident” in the thesis statement. You were apparently referring to the last use of the word. Therein lies the confusion.
    No disrespect intended, so no need to be haughty.

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