Georgia BE-58 Accident Claimed Five
On April 22, Jesse
Champion fired the engines on his Beechcraft Baron 58 at Jack
Edwards Airport in Gulf Shores, AL... concluding a weekend fishing
trip with two friends, and two teenage boys.
According to a recently released NTSB preliminary report, about
2:45 pm that afternoon a witness fishing in his boat on a lake near
Hamilton, GA "heard an airplane approaching his location from the
southeast to the northwest" that "sounded as if the pilot was
performing some acrobatic maneuvers" but he could not get a visual
on the aircraft.
The noise increaseed in intensity, and the witness then saw
Champion's Beech 58 "plunging toward the ground at a 45-to
60-degree, nose-down angle" as the plane came apart, according to
the report.
The witness returned to shore and called 911. All five people
onboard the Baron were pronounced dead at the scene.
The Safety Board also states two days earlier, Champion was
talking with a friend at his shop in Griffin, GA. They talked about
the BE-58, and about the fishing trip.
"I think I can roll this airplane," Champion reportedly told his
friend, according to the NTSB. The friend also said Champion had
flown with a retired airline pilot, who owns a Beech 55, and the
pilot had rolled the airplane with him as a passenger.
The man -- who had planned to purchase a plane
from Champion -- also told investigators the accident
pilot's "flying skills were below his standards because the pilot
was known for overstressing the planes he flew."
Acquaintances of Champion's told the NTSB that the week before
the accident, Champion had flown himself and three friends to
Lakeland, FL for the annual Fly-In. There, the
pilot reportedly watched a show performer roll a Beech 18.
Three days prior to the crash, Champion was flying the group
home from Sun 'N Fun in his Beech 58, cruising at about 9,500 feet
with the autopilot on.
"I want to try something," Champion told his friends, before
switching off the autopilot and banking left then right. "I believe
it is possible to roll this airplane."
He then pushed forward on the control and the plane plunged
toward the ground. He pulled back and right causing the aircraft to
roll half-way and climb sideways.
Champion's right seat passenger told NTSB investigators he then
grabbed control, leveling the plane and said, "It got me out of my
comfort zone, and I could not handle it."
According to the NTSB, Champion took control back from his
passenger... but then powered back the plane's right engine and
feathered the prop. He then restarted the engine, and the aircraft
proceeded to its destination without further incident.