Gentry SERIES 5 VIXEN N199DG

Summary

On 12 September 1999 at about 00:00 local time, a Gentry SERIES 5 VIXEN registered N199DG, operated by Daniel Byler, was involved in an accident near Naples, Idaho, United States. 2 people were on board and 2 died. The aircraft was destroyed. The NTSB has published a probable cause for this accident; it is quoted in full below.

Date

12 September 1999 at 00:00

Classification

Accident

Location

Naples, Idaho, United States

Nearest airport

Private Airstrip

Coordinates

48.5892, -116.4001

Aircraft

Gentry SERIES 5 VIXEN

Registration

N199DG

Category

Airplane

Engines

1

Operator

Daniel Byler

Operating rule

Part 91: General Aviation

Purpose of flight

Personal

Phase of flight

Not recorded

Route

Unknown → Bonners Ferry

Aircraft damage

Destroyed

Weather

VMC

Light

Day

NTSB number

SEA99LA159

2 people died.

The pilot's failure to maintain adequate airspeed during a turn back toward the departure surface, resulting in a stall.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record. This site does not paraphrase or interpret it.

Read the full NTSB narrative

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.

Quoted verbatim from the NTSB record.