Amateur-built SERIES 5 VIXEN accident near Naples, Idaho, September 12, 1999
On September 12, 1999, a amateur-built SERIES 5 VIXEN, registered N199DG, was destroyed in an accident near Naples, Idaho (Private Airstrip airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 2 people were killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
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The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed during a turn back toward the departure surface, resulting in a stall.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 4, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- September 12, 1999
- Place
- Naples, Idaho · Private Airstrip · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 2 people were killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built SERIES 5 VIXEN SERIES 5 V
- Registration
- N199DG · registry record · serial V95030030
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
A witness reported that after the aircraft took off, it made an immediate 180-degree turn back to the departure area. It then appeared to the witness to attempt a landing, descending to within 2 to 4 feet of the surface, but at midfield appeared to the witness to be too fast to land. The aircraft then began a go-around and another turn back to the departure area. During the second turn back to the departure area, the aircraft entered an abrupt descent and crashed. An FAA on-scene investigator found barbed wire entangled with the aircraft wreckage, and leading edge gouges on the aircraft's propeller blades matching the diameter of the barbed wire. The departure area has barbed-wire fences at either end. The FAA investigator found no evidence of pre-impact flight control or engine malfunction.
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; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,005 hours in all; 75 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Last inspection: annual inspection, February 10, 1999
- Maximum gross weight: 1,400 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Nsi EA81-98I (piston); 0 hours total
- Fire on the ground
The flight
- Destination: 65S Bonners Ferry ID
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 12
- A second pilot was aboard
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 311° at 4 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 70°F (21°C), dew point 28°F (-2°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 11:55 pm from COE, 54 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 2 |
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.
About this page
Everything above comes from the NTSB's public accident database: the narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words, and the coded tables behind its report (pilot, aircraft, flight, weather, injuries, sequence of events) are written out in plain English. Pilots' ages, home towns and medical details are left out on purpose. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, the folder of records gathered during the investigation, shown as the NTSB released them (the NTSB redacts some personal details first) and listed under the NTSB's own titles. This site's own text never names pilots, passengers or anyone else involved. A preliminary report describes what is known soon after the event and can change; the final report, with the probable cause, usually follows one to two years later and this page is refreshed when it does. Case number SEA99LA159.