Amateur-built AVID FLYER accident near Tomah, Wisconsin, July 21, 1987
On July 21, 1987 at about 11:00 pm local time, a amateur-built AVID FLYER, registered N228MC, was destroyed in an accident near Tomah, Wisconsin (Bloyer Field). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was seriously injured. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The NTSB has not yet published a probable cause for this accident. Investigations usually take one to two years; this page updates when the final report is released.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- July 21, 1987 · about 11:00 pm local time
- Place
- Tomah, Wisconsin · Bloyer Field · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was seriously injured.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built AVID FLYER
- Registration
- N228MC · registry record · serial KIT #228
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE HOMEBUILT, HIWING ACFT HAD JUST BEEN ASSEMBLED BY THE OWNER/PLT & WAS READIED FOR ITS 1ST FLT. AFTER TAKEOFF FROM RWY 25, THE ACFT ENTERED A CLIMB, TURNED BACK OVER THE ARPT & CROSSED OVER THE RWY. SUBSEQUENTLY, IT WAS MANEUVEREDABOUT 500 TO 800 FT SOUTH OF THE RWY, IN THE VICINITY OF A LEFT BASE TURN TO RWY 25. WHILE IN A LEFT TURN, THE BANK ANGLE INCREASED TO ABOUT 60 DEG & THE ACFT DESCENDED TO THE GROUND & CRASHED. IT STRUCK THE GROUND 486 FT SHORT OF RWY 25 ON A HDG OF 270 DEG. THE PLT WAS SERIOUSLY INJURED & COULD NOT REMEMBER DETAILS OF THE ACDNT. HE STATED HE COULD NOT GET FULL POWER FROM THE ENG. HOWEVER, NO SPECIFIC PROBLEMS WERE FOUND DURING AN EXAM OF THE ENG, EXCEPT THAT DEPOSITS IN THE FRONT CYLINDER WERE INDICATIVE OF A SLIGHTLY RICH FUEL MIXTURE.
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: 101 hours in all; 3 in the last 90 days; 2 in the last 30 days; 74 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--w/ waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 1 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded, July 14, 1987; 3 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 850 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Rotax 532 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 24, 3,580 ft by 40 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 210° at 4 knots
- Visibility: 8 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 3,500 ft
- Temperature: 90°F (32°C), dew point 66°F (19°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 10:57 pm from VOK, 11 miles away
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.