Amateur-built Starduster SA300 accident near Chino Valley, Arizona, February 23, 2001
On February 23, 2001 at about 3:45 pm local time, a amateur-built Starduster SA300, registered N1173, was substantially damaged in an accident near Chino Valley, Arizona. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's inadequate preflight planning and his failure to dissiminate/coordinate the total distance required to successfully operate the airplane.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- February 23, 2001 · about 3:45 pm local time
- Place
- Chino Valley, Arizona · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built Starduster SA300
- Registration
- N1173 · no longer on the register
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
During takeoff from a road, a vehicle, which had been cleared from the road, reentered the road and the pilot veered right to avoid it, striking a bush on the side of the road and nosing over. On the previous day, the pilot had landed on the road due to a broken throttle linkage. On the morning of the accident, the pilot, airplane owner, and a mechanic returned to repair the linkage. When the repairs were completed, the owner and mechanic cleared the road for takeoff. The investigator's record of telephone conversation with the pilot indicated that just prior to becoming airborne, a car used to clear the road was driven onto the road; the pilot executed the takeoff but had insufficient clearance from the car, veered right, contacted bushes, and the airplane nosed over. In his report of the accident, the pilot stated that the car did not enter the road until the airplane was aligned for takeoff. Since the airplane was tailwheel equipped, he was unable to see the car until during the takeoff roll, when the tail was lifted. During the takeoff roll the engine power diminished. To avoid colliding with the car, the pilot said, he attempted to abort the takeoff and veered off the road. The main wheels entered a depression and the airplane nosed over, just past the car.
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: airline transport pilot, flight instructor
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane; instrument: helicopter; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 10,600 hours in all; 85 in this make and model; 45 in the last 90 days; 25 in the last 30 days; 9,500 as pilot in command; 3,500 on instruments
- Last flight review: January 26, 2001
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rear
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 650 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, September 30, 2000; 15 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,850 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Continental E 185 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: Chino Valley AZ at 8:45 am
- Destination: PRC Prescott AZ
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 180° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: a few clouds at 4,000 ft
- Temperature: 39°F (4°C), dew point 25°F (-4°C)
- Altimeter: 29.67 inHg
- Observation at 3:53 pm from PRC, 7 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 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.