Amateur-built AVID FLYER accident near Schellville, California, August 29, 1999
On August 29, 1999 at about 1:45 am local time, a amateur-built AVID FLYER, registered N625F, was destroyed in an accident near Schellville, California (Sonoma Valley airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person had minor injuries. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's encounter with wind shear and a downdraft which precipitated his loss of airplane control.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- August 29, 1999 · about 1:45 am local time
- Place
- Schellville, California · Sonoma Valley · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built AVID FLYER
- Registration
- N625F · no longer on the register · serial 625
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot, in his experimental 65 hp, 1,200-pound gross weight airplane, took off under calm wind conditions and gained 50 to 75 feet. Then, a wind shear was encountered which yawed the airplane 15 degrees, and the airplane appeared to be pushed backwards. The pilot lost control, and the airplane descended until impacting a ditch about 200 feet from the runway.
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; single-engine sea
- Flight time: 350 hours in all; 60 in this make and model; 15 in the last 90 days; 10 in the last 30 days; 300 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 190 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, April 10, 1999; 12 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,200 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Rotax 582 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 0Q3 CA at 1:40 am
- Destination: O69 Petaluma CA
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 25, 2,700 ft by 45 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 180° at 9 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 72°F (22°C), dew point 61°F (16°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 1:54 am from APC, 4 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.