Amateur-built AVID MK. 4 accident near Elberton, Georgia, May 11, 1998
On May 11, 1998 at about 10:30 pm local time, a amateur-built AVID MK. 4, registered N117DK, was substantially damaged in an accident near Elberton, Georgia. 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
A loss of engine power due to a failed combustion assembly, expansion seal.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 11, 1998 · about 10:30 pm local time
- Place
- Elberton, Georgia · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built AVID MK. 4
- Registration
- N117DK · registry record · serial 1383D
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
On climbout, the engine experienced a power loss that would not sustain level flight and the pilot performed a forced landing to a hay field. During the forced landing the airplane collided with the dense grass and upslope terrain. Postcrash examination of the engine revealed about 75 percent of the number one cylinder expansion chamber gasket blown out, with resultant loosening of the cylinder attach bolts.
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: single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 526 hours in all; 6 in this make and model; 17 in the last 90 days; 7 in the last 30 days; 498 as pilot in command
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 11 hours
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded
- Maximum gross weight: 1,050 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Rotax 582C (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 27A GA at 10:20 pm
- Destination: AHN Athens GA
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 260° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 73°F (23°C), dew point 55°F (13°C)
- Altimeter: 29.00 inHg
- Observation at 11:53 pm from AHN, 30 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.