Amateur-built SIDEWINDER accident near Madera, California, June 21, 2000
On June 21, 2000 at about 9:00 pm local time, a amateur-built SIDEWINDER, registered N4119Q, was substantially damaged in an accident near Madera, California. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's inadequate short field landing procedure and his delayed decision to proceed to an alternate destination, which resulted in fuel exhaustion and a subsequent hard landing during the emergency descent.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 21, 2000 · about 9:00 pm local time
- Place
- Madera, California · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built SIDEWINDER
- Registration
- N4119Q · no longer on the register · serial 34
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
This was a cross-country flight from Oregon to California with two en route stops planned to refuel. The flight departed at 0730, with refueling stops along the way. A departure time of 1120 was made from the second airport. The pilot indicated that the airplane had a fuel capacity of 20 gallons and a burn rate of 8 gallons per hour, approximately 2 1/2 to 3 hours of flight, and was not equipped with flaps. After arrival at the destination airport, at 1320, he made three attempts to land. Due to winds and a high temperature he was unable to land. On all three attempts, he landed approximately halfway down the runway, and did not feel there was enough room to safely come to a stop. He departed the airport at 1345 to attempt a landing at an airport approximately 20 nmi from his current position; passing by an airport 5 miles from his current location because he did not have a transponder onboard the airplane and did not want to enter Class C airspace without it. Approximately 6 miles from the airport the engine quit, and the pilot started looking for a place to make an emergency landing.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 213 hours in all; 72 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 223 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, April 1, 2000; 39 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,480 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-290-D (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: RBL Red Bluff CA at 6:20 pm
- Destination: FCH Fresno CA
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 300° at 10 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 212°F (100°C), dew point 135°F (57°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 8:53 pm from MAE, 2 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.