Amateur-built AA-5B accident near Okeechobee, Florida, November 11, 1983
On November 11, 1983 at about 2:40 am local time, a amateur-built AA-5B, registered N123EF, was substantially damaged in an accident near Okeechobee, Florida (Okeechobee airport). It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved. 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
- November 11, 1983 · about 2:40 am local time
- Place
- Okeechobee, Florida · Okeechobee · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 2 people were on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built AA-5B
- Registration
- N123EF · registry record · serial AA5B-0018
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
THE PLT REPORTED THAT DURING FLT, THE ENG HAD A PARTIAL LOSS OF POWER. HE ATTEMPTED TO DIVERT TO AN ARPT. HE WAS ABLE TO GET ON FINAL APCH, BUT WHEN HE SAW HE COULD NOT REACH THE RUNWAY, HE TURNED AWAY FROM THE LIGHTS & A BUILDING FOR AN EMERGENCY LANDING. HOWEVER, BEFORE LANDING, THE ACFT COLLIDED WITH POWER LINES, THEN IMPACTED THE GROUND. AN EXAM OF THE ENG REVEALED THAT THE EXHAUST VALVE HEAD OF THE #1 CYLINDER HAD SEPARATED. WITH CONTINUED OPERATION OF THE ENG, DEBRIS ENTERED THE #1 CYLINDER CAUSING FURTHER DAMAGE & LOSS OF POWER. THE SODIUM COOLED EXHAUST VALVE, PN 74541 AH-ED, HAD APRX 300 HRS IN SERVICE.
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: commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 2,903 hours in all; 302 in this make and model; 450 in the last 90 days; 2,703 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: rgt
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 2,231 hours
- Last inspection: 100-hour inspection; 31 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 2,400 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Lycoming O-360 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: PBI West Palm Beach FL at 1:55 am
- Destination: TPA Tampa FL
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 4, 5,000 ft by 150 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: night, dark
- Wind: from 210° at 6 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: broken clouds at 25,000 ft; not recorded at 25,000 ft
- Temperature: 73°F (23°C), dew point 64°F (18°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 2:55 am from VRB, 33 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 | |||
| Passengers | 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 N123EF 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.