Amateur-built AVID AMPHIBIAN accident near San Ysidro, California, November 22, 1991
On November 22, 1991 at about 6:24 pm local time, a amateur-built AVID AMPHIBIAN, registered N118A, was destroyed in an accident near San Ysidro, California. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person was killed. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
FAILURE OF THE PILOT/BUILDER TO FOLLOW THE MANUFACTURER'S RECOMMENDED AIRFRAME MODIFICATION PROCEDURE TO PREVENT THE INFLIGHT LOSS OF A FLAPERON DUE TO FLUTTER. CONTRIBUTING TO THE ACCIDENT WAS IN INFLIGHT SEPARATION OF THE WING WHEN THE DESIGN LIMITS OF THE AIRFRAME WERE EXCEEDED.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- November 22, 1991 · about 6:24 pm local time
- Place
- San Ysidro, California · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person was killed.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built AVID AMPHIBIAN AVID AMPHI
- Registration
- N118A · registry record · serial 6
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE CERTIFICATED COMMERCIAL PILOT, THE SOLE OCCUPANT, WAS CONDUCTING FLIGHT TESTS ON A NEWLY MANUFACTURED EXPERIMENTAL, AMATEUR BUILT AIRPLANE. WHILE ORBITING OVER AN AIRPORT, THE PILOT DECLARED AN EMERGENCY AND WAS OBSERVED DESCENDING IN A LEFT SPIRALLING DIVE. THE LEFT FLAPERON AND LEFT WING SEPARATED FROM THE FUSELAGE. THE PILOT, WHO WAS WEARING A PARACHUTE, ATTEMPTED TO BAIL OUT OF THE AIRPLANE AT LOW ALTITUDE. THE PARACHUTE FAILED TO SUFFICIENTLY OPEN DUE TO THE LOW ALTITUDE. AN EXAMINATION OF THE SEPARATED FLAPERON DISCLOSED CYCLIC OVERLOAD AND OVERTRAVEL ATTRIBUTED TO FLUTTER. FLAPERON COUNTER WEIGHTS WERE STRONGLY RECOMMENDED BY THE MANUFACTURER TO PREVENT FLUTTER. THE PILOT ELECTED NOT TO INSTALL THE COUNTER WEIGHTS BECAUSE IT WOULD IMPOSE AN ADDITION OF WEIGHT, AND THE PILOT FELT THAT THEY WERE NOT NEEDED.
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: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,600 hours in all
- Medical certificate: Class 2 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded, October 22, 1991; 3 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,220 lb
- Seats: 3
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Rotax 582 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: SDM San Diego CA at 5:30 pm
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 310° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 25 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 64°F (18°C), dew point 54°F (12°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 6:50 pm from SDM, 2 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.