Amateur-built VANS RV-4 accident near Red Bluff, California, April 12, 1999
On April 12, 1999 at about 4:15 pm local time, a amateur-built VANS RV-4, registered N6420E, was substantially damaged in an accident near Red Bluff, California. 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
A crack which developed in the automotive-type oil cooler of the experimental, amateur built aircraft and permitted the engine oil supply to flow overboard.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- April 12, 1999 · about 4:15 pm local time
- Place
- Red Bluff, California · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built VANS RV-4
- Registration
- N6420E · no longer on the register · serial 1875
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The engine of the amateur built, experimental aircraft seized and stopped after the seam of the automotive-type oil cooler opened up in-flight, resulting in loss of the engine oil supply and oil starvation of the engine. The pilot attempted to make a forced landing in a field, however, the right main landing gear entered a hole and the aircraft cartwheeled.
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; rotorcraft: helicopter
- Flight time: 6,500 hours in all; 700 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: frt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 657 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, February 27, 1999; 10 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,500 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-360-A4A (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: O88 Rio Vista CA at 3:30 pm
- Destination: MFR Medford OR
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 350° at 8 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 52°F (11°C), dew point 46°F (8°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 3:55 pm from RBL, 25 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.
Other NTSB records under N6420E the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.