Amateur-built 360 accident near Kernville, California, September 24, 2000
On September 24, 2000 at about 3:30 pm local time, a amateur-built 360, registered N360HW, was substantially damaged in an accident near Kernville, California (Kern Valley airport). 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 failed to maintain an adequate airspeed margin, resulting in a stall/mush and hard landing, and failed to maintain directional control and the left main landing gear separated when it struck a rock.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 24, 2000 · about 3:30 pm local time
- Place
- Kernville, California · Kern Valley · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built 360
- Registration
- N360HW · no longer on the register · serial 789320631FB
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The airplane bounced and veered off the left side of the runway. The pilot was on final and maintaining 85 knots as he initiated his flare. During the flare, he encountered wind shear and the airplane dropped from about 5 feet. The left main landing gear struck some large rocks and separated from the airplane. The pilot said a big upslope was near the runway. He estimated the winds to be from 010 degrees at 10 knots.
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; instrument: airplane; rotorcraft: glider
- Flight time: 1,767 hours in all; 209 in this make and model; 39 in the last 90 days; 17 in the last 30 days; 1,746 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 206 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, October 1, 1999; 106 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,900 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming IO-360 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: CNO Chino CA at 2:45 pm
- Destination: L05
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 35, 3,500 ft by 50 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 150° at 3 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 151°F (66°C), dew point 126°F (52°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 3:56 pm from BFL, 36 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.