Bushmaster Aircraft 2000 accident near Fullerton, California, September 25, 2004
On September 25, 2004 at about 8:23 pm local time, a Bushmaster Aircraft 2000, registered N750RW, was destroyed in an accident near Fullerton, California (Fullerton Muni airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 2 people were seriously injured. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
the inadequate preflight inspection by the pilot-in-command, where the pilot failed to remove the makeshift gust lock attached to the rudder and left elevator of the airplane. As a result, the airplane veered off the runway surface during the takeoff roll, became airborne, and immediately began an uncontrolled descending left roll until impacting vehicles and the ground.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 25, 2004 · about 8:23 pm local time
- Place
- Fullerton, California · Fullerton Muni · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were seriously injured.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Bushmaster Aircraft 2000
- Registration
- N750RW · no longer on the register · serial 2
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The airplane crashed onto a street adjacent to the airport shortly after takeoff. As the airplane started its takeoff roll, it began to veer to the left off of the runway. About midway down the runway the airplane lifted off the ground and flew over a crowd of people assembled at the airport for an airport appreciation day. The airplane climbed to about 50 feet, made a steep roll to the left, flying in-between the control tower and a light pole, and crossed over the boundary fence where the left wing struck a moving vehicle before coming to rest against several parked cars. Numerous photographs (including video footage) were taken by witnesses on the airport of the airplane on the takeoff ground roll and throughout the accident sequence. The photographs clearly show a nylon strap connecting the left elevator and rudder. It was surmised that the use of the nylon strap was as a flight control/gust lock for the airplane. During the investigation, a nylon strap was observed hanging from an S-hook that was attached to the vertical stabilizer/rudder hinge attach point. The loop at the other end of the strap had come apart, and when investigators looked under the left stabilizer/elevator hinge attach area they noted a similar S-hook attached to the hinge attach area.
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: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 3,700 hours in all; 54 in this make and model; 31 in the last 90 days; 12 in the last 30 days; 3,441 as pilot in command; 279 on instruments
- Last flight review: June 1, 2003
- Medical certificate: Class 2
- Seat: left
- Injury: serious injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1,420 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, March 1, 2004; 588.1 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 125,000 lb
- Seats: 11
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine 1: Pratt & Whitney R985 (piston); 0 hours total
- Engine 2: Pratt & Whitney R985 (piston); 0 hours total
- Engine 3: Pratt & Whitney R985 (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Departed from: FUL Fullerton CA at 8:22 pm
- Destination: FUL
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 24, 3,121 ft by 75 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: dawn
- Wind: from 230° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 86°F (30°C), dew point 63°F (17°C)
- Altimeter: 29.87 inHg
- Observation at 8:53 pm from FUL
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.