# Accident 20141001022369A: Belle Vernon, PA, October 1, 2014

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: October 1, 2014, 14:00 local time
- Place: Belle Vernon, PA
- Airport: Rostraver
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Landing: Approach
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 40.2097° N, 79.8314° W: Placed by OpenAirDocs at ROSTRAVER (FWQ), within about a mile (OpenAirDocs)
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=40.2097&lon=-79.8314&mi=10
- Aircraft: NONE (not matched to a registry record)
- Reported engine: ROTAX 582
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 1
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Private pilot
- Pilot flight hours: 3,800 total, 13 in this make and model, 13 in the last 90 days
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20141001022369A

## Narrative

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

WRECKAGE WAS CONTAINED IN ONE SMALL AREA APPROXIMATELY 700 FEET FROM THE APPROACH END OF RUNWAY 24 AT ROSTRAVER AIRPORT HEADING APPROXIMATELY 260 DEGREES. THE AREA OF THE WRECKAGE WAS NOT WIDER THAN THE DIAMETER OF THE MAIN ROTOR, APPROXIMATELY 20 FEET. EVIDENCE OF THE IMPACT AT THE SCENE REVEALED THAT THE GYROPLANE APPEARED TO HAVE FLOWN STRAIGHT INTO THE GROUND. THERE WAS VERY LITTLE DAMAGE TO THE MAIN ROTOR'S LEADING EDGES AND IT APPEARED AS THOUGH THE MAIN ROTOR FOLDED UP UPON IMPACT. THE REST OF THE GYROPLANE WAS COMPLETELY DESTROYED WITH NO POST-CRASH FIRE. THE ENGINE WAS IDENTIFIED AS A ROTAX MODEL 582 AND HAD A COMPOSITE THREE BLADED PROP. TWO OF THE THREE BLADES WERE BROKEN OFF BUT ONE BLADE WAS COMPLETELY UNDAMAGED. FUEL WAS PRESENT IN THE FUEL LINES LEADING UP TO THE CARBURETORS. FLIGHT CONTROL CONTINUITY WAS ESTABLISHED.  NO ELT WAS FOUND NEAR OR ABOUT THE WRECKAGE SITE. FURTHER INVESTIGATION REVEALED THAT THIS GYROPLANE APPEARS TO BE AN AIR COMMAND INTERNATIONAL WITH A ROTAX MODEL 582 ENGINE, WHICH IS NORMALLY REQUIRED TO BE REGISTERED AND CERTIFICATED IN THE EXPERIMENTAL CATAGORY. IT WAS DETERMINED THAT THIS PARTICULAR GYROPLANE HAD NO REGISTRATION NUMBER OR DATA PLATE TO IDENTIFY MAKE AND MODEL, AND WAS NOT CERTIFICATED IN ANY CATAGORY.

## NTSB investigation

None matched to this report by aircraft and date. Search the NTSB's own records: https://data.ntsb.gov/carol-main-public/basic-search

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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