# Accident 20001004015839A: Moseler Sidney L RAF 2000 GTX SE, Muskegon, MI, October 4, 2000

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: October 4, 2000, 18:45 local time
- Place: Muskegon, MI
- Damage: No damage
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 43.2409° N, 86.2501° W: From the FAA, an estimate near the named town, within about 3 miles
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=43.2409&lon=-86.2501&mi=10
- Aircraft: N1187Z, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N1187Z-2001-03-30) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Moseler Sidney L RAF 2000 GTX SE (registry code 05604PP, https://openairdocs.org/model/moseler-sidney-l-raf-2000-gtx-se) (OpenAirDocs)
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB CHI01LA002](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI01LA002) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20001004015839A

## Narrative

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

(-23) WHILE ENROUTE FROM MUSKEGON, MI. (KMKG) TO TOMANICA AIRFIELD, A PRIVATE AIRFIELD APPROX. 8 MILES EAST SOUTHEAST OF THE MUSKEGON, MI. AIRPORT (KMKG), THE GYROCOPTER'S ROTOR BLADE MADE CONTACT WITH THE PROPELLER AND RUDDER. THE RUDDER WAS DESTROYED AND FOR THE NEXT 3/4 OF A MILE, PIECES OF THE ROTOR, PROPELLER AND VERTICAL STABILIZER/RUDDER COULD BE FOUND ALONG A STRAIGHT LINE TO THE ACCIDENT SCENE. APPROX. 1/4 OF A MILE FROM THE ACCIDENT SCENE THE DRIVE BELT FOR THE PROPELLER WAS FOUND. APPROXIMATELY 50 FEET FROM THE ACCIDENT SCENE, THE VERTICAL STABILIZER WAS FOUND STILL ATTACHED TO THE LAST 3 FEET OF THE GYROCOPTER'S KEEL, WHICH HAD BEEN SEVERED FROM THE AIRCRAFT BY A ROTOR BLADE STRIKE. SEVERAL WITNESSES WERE INTERVIEWED, ALL WITH SIMILAR OBSERVATIONS. MOST NOTABLE WAS A TELEPHONE INTERVIEW WITH ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ , AN EX ARMY HELICOPTER MECHANIC SAID THAT THE MAIN ROTOR BLADE APPEARED TO COME PARTIALLY LOOSE, AT WHICH TIME THE AIRCRAFT BEGAN TO VIOLENTLY WARBLE, FOLLOWED BY NUMEROUS PARTS LEAVING THE AIRCRAFT, WHILE IT WAS APPROX. 300 TO 500 FEET ABOVE THE GROUND. HE AL                                                                                                     SO STATED THAT AT ABOUT THE TIME OF THE AIRCRAFT BREAK UP THERE WAS A LOUD NOISE. AN INTERVIEW WITH ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^ , WHO IS AN EXPERIENCED GYROCOPTER PILOT, REVEALED THAT THIS MAKE OF GYROCOPTER IS SOMEWHAT SUSCEPTIBLE TO "PILOT INDUCED OSCILLATIONS." IT SHOULD BE NOTED THAT THIS PARTICULAR GYROCOPTER DID NOT HAVE A HORIZONTAL STABILIZER INSTALLED, WHICH IS AN OPTION THAT CAN BE INSTALLED THAT CAN PROVIDE LONGITUDINAL STABILITY AND THEREBY DECREASES THE LIKELIHOOD OF "PILOT INDUCED OSCILLATIONS." PILOT FLIGHT TIMES ARE OMITTED FROM THE -23 AS THE PILOT LOG BOOKS AND AIRCRAFT RECORDS ARE UNAVAILABLE AND BELIEVED BURNED IN THE POST CRASH FIRE. ESTIMATED PILOT FLIGHT TIME IN THIS MAKE OF GYROCOPTER IS 200 FLIGHT HOURS, BASED ON CONVERSATIONS WITH PERSONNEL AT THE ACCIDENT SCENE WHO KNEW THE PILOT.

## 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 CHI01LA002](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CHI01LA002), Oct 4, 2000: Moseler RAF 2000 GTX SE (N1187Z), Muskegon, MI, destroyed, 1 fatal. Probable cause: The main rotor contacting with the vertical stabilizer, the loss of the vertical stabilizer, and the aircraft control not possible by the pilot.

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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