Amateur-built AVID FLYER MARK IV accident near Seabrook, Texas, October 23, 1999
On October 23, 1999 at about 2:59 pm local time, a amateur-built AVID FLYER MARK IV, registered N583AF, was substantially damaged in an accident near Seabrook, Texas. 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 failure to maintain directional control during a downwind landing. Factors were his improper weather evaluation, the prevailing tailwind, and the engine vibration.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 23, 1999 · about 2:59 pm local time
- Place
- Seabrook, Texas · 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 MARK IV AVID FLYER
- Registration
- N583AF · no longer on the register · serial 3972258
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The 900-hour pilot lost control of the airplane while landing downwind on a dirt road with a 15 knot tailwind. The pilot reported that the engine developed a vibration accompanied by a rise in cylinder head temperature. The pilot elected to perform a precautionary landing on a westerly heading on a nearby dirt road to investigate the source of the engine problem. The pilot was expecting a crosswind landing; however, the wind speed and direction were different than anticipated and he ended up landing the airplane with a tailwind. The pilot applied the brakes immediately after touchdown to avoid colliding with a steel gate. Subsequently, the airplane drifted to the left and exited the roadway. The nose landing gear assembly collapsed, and the airplane nosed over and came to rest in the inverted position.
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
- Flight time: 900 hours in all; 420 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: None
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 420 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, October 3, 1999; 18 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,150 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Rotax 582 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 37R Hitchcock TX at 2:00 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 045° at 15 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 64°F (18°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.
Other NTSB records under N583AF the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
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.