- Date
- October 14, 1992, 13:50 local (20:50 UTC)
- Place
- Rosamond, CA
- Injuries
- 2 fatal
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Phase of flight
- Approach
- Aircraft
- N330RJGilbert SX300
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report August 26, 1993
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- FAA report
- 19921014042189A
- Case key
- 27845
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The pilots inadequate compensation for the wind conditions and his failure to maintain an adequate airspeed while maneuvering which led to an inadvertent stall spin.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The investigation was unable to determine who was actually flying the airplane at the time of the accident. A 3,100 hour commercial pilot, who was the owner and builder of the experimental airplane, was in the right seat. The left seat was occupied by his private pilot son who had about 128 hours. They were attempting to land at an uncontrolled airport on runway 25. The airport manager and fixed base operator at the airport stated that the winds were out of the south at about 25 mph with gusts to about 30 mph. The operator further stated that the airplane had made two or three close in left hand approaches, each time overflying the runway centerline on the turn to final and correcting with steep banked turns back to the runway. Witnesses reported that the airplane rolled inverted while on final approach from what appeared to be an 'accelerated stall.' The aircraft was examined at the accident site by an FAA airworthiness inspector who reported finding no preimpact mechanical malfunctions or failures.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N330RJ
- Reported as
- Gilbert SX300
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- 71
- Engine
- Lycoming IO 540 AA1A5, 300 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Fire
- On-Ground
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- John D. Gilbert
- Registered owner
- John D. Gilbert
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Unknown · January 2, 2000
- Departed
- CRQ · Carlsbad, CA
- Airport
- L00 · Rosamond Skypark, runway 25, 3,600 × 50 ft, asphalt
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 68
- Certificate
- Commercial
- Airplane ratings
- Multi-engine land, Single-engine land
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 3, Valid Medical--w/ waivers/lim
- Seat
- Right
- Toxicology
- Performed
- Flight hours
- 3,100 total
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 230° at 24 knots, gusting 28
- Visibility
- 35 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 73 °F
- Altimeter
- 29.00 inHg
- Observed at
- WJF, 9 nm away
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.