# Accident 20151024020559A: Evans Brandon GYROPLANE, October 24, 2015

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: October 24, 2015, 06:30 local time
- Airport: Buckeye Municipal
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Phase of flight: Takeoff: Rotation
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 33.4156° N, 112.6864° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=33.4156&lon=-112.6864&mi=10
- Aircraft: N166BE, registered now (https://openairdocs.org/aircraft/N166BE) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: Evans Brandon GYROPLANE (registry code 05901LH, https://openairdocs.org/model/evans-brandon-gyroplane) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Subaru ALL MDLS A/B (registry code 59050, https://openairdocs.org/engine/subaru-all-mdls-a-b) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: EVANS BRANDON GYROPLANE
- Reported engine: SUBARU ALL MDLS A/B
- People aboard: 2
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Commercial pilot, flight instructor
- Pilot flight hours: 684 total, 377 in this make and model, 2 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB GAA16CA035](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/GAA16CA035) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20151024020559A

## Narrative

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

A STUDENT PILOT WAS PERFORMING A PRE-SOLO FLIGHT WITH THE CFI ABOARD. THE INSTRUCTOR STATED THAT THE AIRCRAFT WAS AT THE END OF RUNWAY 35 AND HAD PERFORMED A SPIN UP OF THE BLADES AND BEGAN ITS TAKE-OFF ROLL. AT THE TIME THE WINDS WERE LIGHT AND VARIABLE OUT OF 320 TO 350 DEGREE HEADING (LH CROSSWIND). DURING TAKE-OFF ROLL THE CFI REALIZED THE STUDENT WAS GIVING OPPOSITE FLIGHT CONTROL INPUT TO THE CONTROL STICK THAN WOULD HAVE BEEN PROPER FOR THE WIND FROM THE LEFT (CONTROL TO THE RIGHT AND AFT). AS SOON AS THE CFI REALIZED THE ERROR HE GRABBED THE CONTROL STICK AND MOVED IT FROM RIGHT TO LEFT AND ATTEMPTED TO PUSH THE STICK FORWARD. BY THIS TIME THE AIRCRAFT HAD BEGUN A CLIMB AT A NOSE HIGH CONDITION. IT THEN TILTED TO THE RIGHT AND BEGAN TO DESCEND IN A RIGHT HAND NOSE DOWN CONDITION WHEN IT CONTACTED THE GROUND. THE AIRCRAFT LANDED ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE AIRCRAFT AND ROLLED OVER ONTO ITS BACK AND SPUN AROUND 180 DEGREES FROM ITS FLIGHT PATH PRIOR TO COMING TO A STOP. AFTER THE AIRCRAFT STOPPED MOVING THE INSTRUCTOR CHECKED WITH THE STUDENT WHO WAS CONSCIOUS BUT WAS LYING ON TOP OF THE INSTRUCTOR. BOTH OCCUPANTS UNSTRAPPED AND MOTATED OUT OF THE AIRCRAFT THRU THE BROKEN FRONT WINDOW AS THEY COULD SMELL FUEL IN THE COCKPIT. AFTER CHECKING WITH EACH OTHER THEY DETERMINED THEY WERE BOTH UNINJURED.

INSPECTION OF THE AIRCRAFT SHOWED IT HAD SUSTAINED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE TO THE MAIN MAST WHICH WAS BENT TO THE AFT AND LEFT ALONG WITH THE CONTROL TUBES; THE PROPELLER CONTROL BOX WAS BROKEN; THE LEFT HORIZONTAL TAIL SURFACE WAS MISSING ALMOST HALF OF THE AFT SURFACE; THE TAIL VERTICAL SURFACE APPEARED TO BE TWISTED LEFT OF CENTERLINE; BOTH ROTOR BLADES WERE BENT IN AN UPWARD CURVE AND WERE WARPED ALONG THE ENTIRE CORD WITH SIGNS ON THE OUTBOARD LOWER TIPS INDICATING THEY HAD COME IN CONTACT WITH BLACKTOP.

## 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 GAA16CA035](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/GAA16CA035), Oct 24, 2015: Brandon Evans Gyroplane (N166BE), Buckeye, AZ, substantial damage. Probable cause: The student pilot's incorrect control input during takeoff which resulted in a runaway excursion and impact with terrain.

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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