Amateur-built Ridge Runner II accident near Pocatello, Idaho, June 19, 2005
On June 19, 2005 at about 1:30 pm local time, a amateur-built Ridge Runner II, registered N825PB, was substantially damaged in an accident near Pocatello, Idaho (Pocatello Regional airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind 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 failure to maintain directional control during the takeoff roll, which resulted in an inadvertent ground loop/swerve.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 19, 2005 · about 1:30 pm local time
- Place
- Pocatello, Idaho · Pocatello Regional · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built Ridge Runner II
- Registration
- N825PB · registry record · serial 722811
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot reported that after applying full power for takeoff the airplane turned to the left. He reported that corrective actions were attempted; however the airplane "spun around" and the left main gear collapsed. During a telephone conversation with the NTSB (IIC), the pilot stated he had accumulate approximately 5 hours and fifty landings in tail wheel equipped aircraft, however he had not received a tail wheel endorsement (required by FAR 61.31[I]). The pilot noted in his written report to the NTSB that there were no preaccident mechanical anomalies with the 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: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 150 hours in all; 150 in this make and model; 9 in the last 90 days; 9 in the last 30 days
- Medical certificate: Class 3
The aircraft
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Rotax 503 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: PIH Pocatello ID
- Destination: Pocatello ID
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 21
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.
Other NTSB records under N825PB 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.