# Accident 19980326004249A: Amtr 173RGELITE, North Little Ro, AR, March 26, 1998

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: March 26, 1998, 16:10 local time
- Place: North Little Ro, AR
- Airport: North Little Rock Municipal Airport
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Forced/Precautionary Landing
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 34.8401° N, 92.3310° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=34.8401&lon=-92.3310&mi=10
- Aircraft: N173VE (not matched to a registry record)
- Reported make and model: AMTR 173RGELITE
- Reported engine: FRNKLN 6A350C1
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 2
- Pilot flight hours: 1,200 total
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB FTW98FA165](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW98FA165) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/19980326004249A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

ACFT WAS IN PATTERN WHEN IT CRASHED UNDER UNKNOWN CIRCUMT. 2 POB SUFFERD FATAL INJ, NORTH LITTLE ROCK, AR. (.4)THE EXPERIMENTAL HOMEBUILT AIRPLANE WAS DESTROYED WHEN IT IMPACTED TREES FOLLOWING A LOSS OF ENGINE POWER DURING THE TAKEOFF/INITIAL CLIMB.  SEVERAL WITNESSES REPORTED THAT THE ENGINE SPUTTERED THEN IT LOST POWER.  POST-ACCIDENT METALLURGICAL EXAMINATION REVEALED RADIAL AND CIRCUMFERENTIAL CRACKS ON THE VALVE SEAT HEAD OF THE #3 EXHAUST VALVE. THE COMBUSTION CHAMBER FACE OF THE VALVE CONTAINED SITES OF SURFACE TEARING WHERE THERE WAS A  LACK OF FUSION OF THE COATING TO THE BASE METAL.  VOIDS AT THE INTERFACE BETWEEN THE COATING AND THE BASE MATERIAL CONTAINED ALUMINUM OXIDE, A MATERIAL USED DURING SURFACE PREPARATION OPERATION.                                    (-23) ON MARCH 26, 1998, AT 1610 CENTRAL STANDARD TIME, A VELOCITY 173 RG ELITE HOMEBUILT, N173VE, WAS DESTROYED WHEN IMPACTING TREES AND TERRAIN FOLLOWING LOSS OF ENGINE POWER DURING TAKEOFF/CLIMB FROM NORTH LITTLE ROCK AIRPORT. THE PILOT AND PASSENGER RECEIVED FATAL INJURIES.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB FTW98FA165](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/FTW98FA165), Mar 26, 1998: Velocity 173 RG Elite (N173VE), N. Little Rock, AR, destroyed, 2 fatal. Probable cause: Inadequate fusion between the valve stem and head due to inadequate quality control during construction of the exhaust valve for the number three cylinder. A contributing factor was the lack of…

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

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