Amateur-built AVID FLYER MK IV accident near Tenakee Springs, Alaska, July 17, 1996
On July 17, 1996 at about 8:00 pm local time, a amateur-built AVID FLYER MK IV, registered N3XP, was substantially damaged in an accident near Tenakee Springs, Alaska. It was a personal flight 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 inadequate compensation for wind conditions. Gusty winds were a factor in the accident.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 17, 1996 · about 8:00 pm local time
- Place
- Tenakee Springs, Alaska · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built AVID FLYER MK IV AVID FLYER
- Registration
- N3XP · no longer on the register · serial 1309D
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot was landing on a remote lake in a float-equipped homebuilt airplane toward the east in calm wind conditions. After touchdown, the pilot retracted the flaperons, slowed to about 20 miles per hour, and was settling off the float step. A gust of wind struck the left side of the airplane and tilted the right wing down. The right wingtip contacted the water and the airplane rolled up onto the front of the right float assembly. The airplane then nosed over.
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; single-engine sea
- Flight time: 247 hours in all; 124 in this make and model; 15 in the last 90 days; 15 in the last 30 days; 247 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 101 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, December 15, 1995; 101 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,200 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Rotax 582 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: Auke Lake AK at 2:00 pm
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 090° at 7 knots
- Visibility: 30 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 61°F (16°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.
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.