Amateur-built Starduster II SA-300 accident near Stockton, California, October 14, 2003
On October 14, 2003, a amateur-built Starduster II SA-300, registered N379C, was substantially damaged in an accident near Stockton, California (Stockton Metropolitan airport). 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 visual lookout resulted in his failure to maintain clearance from the parked airplane.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 14, 2003
- Place
- Stockton, California · Stockton Metropolitan · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built Starduster II SA-300
- Registration
- N379C · no longer on the register · serial 502
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The Starduster collided with a parked and unoccupied Piper, while taxiing into a parking spot. While attempting to line the Starduster up with the parking line, the pilot was looking off the left wing. The right interplane-strut of the Starduster collided with the Piper's nose spinner. The propeller of the Starduster then made contact with the other airplane's right wing. The pilot noted no mechanical problems with his airplane.
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: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,500 hours in all; 35 in this make and model; 39 in the last 90 days; 23 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 3
The aircraft
- Maximum gross weight: 1,985 lb
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming IO-360 Series (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: SAC Sacramento Exec CA
- Destination: SCK Stockton CA
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Temperature: 0°F (-18°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
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.