Amateur-built Avid Mark IV accident near Salisbury, Maryland, June 30, 2001
On June 30, 2001 at about 10:44 pm local time, a amateur-built Avid Mark IV, registered N1968N, was substantially damaged in an accident near Salisbury, Maryland (Salisbury-Ocean City Wicomico airport). 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 airplane control. Factors were the quartering tailwind, and the improper rebuild of the left main landing gear with a reduced size brace.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- June 30, 2001 · about 10:44 pm local time
- Place
- Salisbury, Maryland · Salisbury-Ocean City Wicomico · map
- Type
- Accident · collision on the ground
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built Avid Mark IV
- Registration
- N1968N · no longer on the register · serial 1514D
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot was performing takeoffs and landings. After each landing, he would back-taxi on the runway for the next evolution. While back-taxiing with the tail raised, and a quartering tailwind of 7 to 8 knots, he encountered a wheel shimmy. He dampened the shimmy with rudder input, after which the airplane abruptly departed the runway to the right. The left main landing gear collapsed, and the left wing and propeller contacted the ground. Metallurgical examination of the failed landing gear brace revealed that it had failed in compression, consistent with the ground loop, and there was no evidence of fatigue or corrosion. The strut was the proper material, and its hardness was within specification. The diameter of the strut was correct; however, it wall thickness was thinner than specified. Computations indicated the lower wall thickness reduced the overall bending strength of the strut by 24 percent.
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: single-engine land; instructor: airplane single-engine; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 444 hours in all; 21 in this make and model; 16 in the last 90 days; 7 in the last 30 days; 308 as pilot in command
- Last flight review: November 3, 1999
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 23 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, July 23, 2000; 12 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 1,100 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Rotax 912 UL (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: SBY Salisbury MD at 9:00 pm
- Destination: SBY Salisbury MD
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 23, 5,000 ft by 100 ft
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 200° at 3 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 84°F (29°C), dew point 72°F (22°C)
- Altimeter: 29.94 inHg
- Observation at 11:54 pm from SBY
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.