Amateur-built Sidewinder accident near Pensacola, Florida, September 29, 2007
On September 29, 2007 at about 6:00 pm local time, a amateur-built Sidewinder, registered N62RE, was substantially damaged in an accident near Pensacola, Florida (Coastal Airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was seriously injured. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's failure to attain the proper touchdown point while landing.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 29, 2007 · about 6:00 pm local time
- Place
- Pensacola, Florida · Coastal Airport · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built Sidewinder
- Registration
- N62RE · no longer on the register · serial 212039
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
Several witnesses described the amateur-built airplane's high-speed, low-altitude overflight and entry into the airport traffic pattern and its flight through the final approach course while on the base leg of the pattern. The approach required "S" turns to realign the airplane with the runway. The landing was "very fast," "very long," and touchdown was over two-thirds the distance down the runway. The airplane then overran the 2,526-foot-long turf runway, collided with a fence, nosed over, and came to rest inverted. The witnesses also described the pilot's postcrash position in the airplane as "inverted," "crumpled," his complexion was "blue," and that cardiopulmonary resuscitation was administered at the scene. The pilot reported that the airplane experienced no mechanical malfunctions or failures, but suggested that the proximity of the engine exhaust outlet to the cabin vent resulted in carbon monoxide impairment. However, examination of his medical records revealed no direct treatment for carbon monoxide poisoning, and a search of the National Transportation Safety Board accident database revealed no record of carbon monoxide impairment in connection with any accident that involved the airplane make and model.
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: single-engine land
- Flight time: 1,185 hours in all; 100 in this make and model
- Last flight review: September 17, 2006
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (without waivers/limitations)
- Seat: left
- Injury: serious injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 960 hours
- Last inspection: condition inspection, November 1, 2006
- Maximum gross weight: 1,600 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-320 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: ASD Slidell LA at 5:05 pm
- Destination: 83J Pensacola FL
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 18, 2,526 ft by 230 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: at 5 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 88°F (31°C), dew point 63°F (17°C)
- Altimeter: 30.12 inHg
- Observation at 5:52 pm from PNS, 11 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.