Amateur-built Avid Flyer accident near Grants Pass, Oregon, May 28, 2006
On May 28, 2006 at about 9:00 pm local time, a amateur-built Avid Flyer, registered N537MF, was substantially damaged in an accident near Grants Pass, Oregon (Granst Pass 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 partial loss of engine power for undertermined reasons, resulting in a forced landing and substantial damage to the airplane. A contributing factor was the transmission wire.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- May 28, 2006 · about 9:00 pm local time
- Place
- Grants Pass, Oregon · Granst Pass Airport · 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
- Registration
- N537MF · no longer on the register · serial 957
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
During a high speed taxi test the airplane became airborne, subsequently veering too far to the left and too far down the runway to allow the pilot to land. The pilot added full power and initiated a go-around, intending to make left hand traffic back to the runway. While in the pattern and observing and excessive EGT, the pilot reduced power, but in doing so he was unable to complete the turn back to the airport. The pilot elected to over fly the end of the runway and make a right turn back to the airport, but during the right turn he noticed a loss of altitude. The pilot then added full power, but as the engine was not responsive he chose to land in a field south of the runway. During the emergency landing the airplane impacted power lines, coming to rest upright in a parking lot adjacent to the airport.
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: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 78 hours in all; 0 in this make and model
- Medical certificate: Class 3
The aircraft
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Rotax 912UL (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: 3S8 Grants Pass OR
- Destination: 3S8 Grants Pass OR
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 30
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Temperature: 0°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.
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.