# Accident 20160715011069A: Toevs TOEVS TITANIUM EXPLORER, Whitewater, KS, July 15, 2016

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: July 15, 2016, 19:02 local time
- Place: Whitewater, KS
- Damage: Destroyed
- Phase of flight: Maneuver
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 37.9931° N, 97.1067° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=37.9931&lon=-97.1067&mi=10
- Aircraft: N556XT, a cancelled registration (https://openairdocs.org/deregistered/N556XT-2018-01-09) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry model: James L Toevs/Christine F G To TOEVS TITANIUM EXPLO (registry code 056337I, https://openairdocs.org/model/james-l-toevs-christine-f-g-to-toevs-titanium-explo) (OpenAirDocs)
- Registry engine: Rotax 914UL (registry code 55553, https://openairdocs.org/engine/rotax-914ul) (OpenAirDocs)
- Reported make and model: TOEVS TOEVS TITANIUM EXPLORER
- People aboard: 1
- Fatal injuries: 1
- Other injuries: 0
- Pilot certificates: Private pilot
- Pilot flight hours: 280 total, 45 in this make and model, 8 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB CEN16LA266](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN16LA266) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20160715011069A

## Narrative

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

ON JULY 15, 2016, THE PRIVATE PILOT CERTIFICATED AIRMAN WAS INVOLVED IN AN AIRCRAFT ACCIDENT WHILE MANEUVERING THE EXPERIMENTAL AMATEUR-BUILT GYROCOPTER IN A RURAL AREA NEAR WHITEWATER, KANSAS.  PURSUANT TO INFORMATION OBTAINED DURING THE ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION, THE AIRMAN DEPARTED THE NEWTON CITY COUNTY AIRPORT (KEWK), NEWTON, KANSAS, FOR A PLEASURE FLIGHT IN THE VICINITY OF THE AIRMAN?S RESIDENCE.  THE KEWK AUTOMATED WEATHER OBSERVATION SYSTEM (AWOS), AT THE TIME OF THE ACCIDENT, REPORTED THAT VISUAL METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS (VMC) PREVAILED WITH VISIBILITY GREATER THAN TEN STATUTE MILES AND SURFACE WINDS FROM THE EAST AT FIVE TO TEN MILES PER HOUR.  ACCORDING TO EYEWITNESS STATEMENTS, THE GYROCOPTER WAS OBSERVED MANEUVERING IN THE VICINITY OF THE ACCIDENT SITE WHEN THE AIRCRAFT PITCHED UP ABRUPTLY AND SUBSEQUENTLY DESCENDED INTO, AND IMPACTED THE GROUND.  A POST-ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION OF THE ACCIDENT SITE REVEALED THE GYROCOPTER IMPACTED THE GROUND IN A SIGNIFICANT NOSE LOW AND RIGHT BANKED ATTITUDE, AS SUBSTANTIATED BY THE SMALL DEBRIS FIELD, GROUND SCARRING AND IMPACT POINTS OF THE ADVANCING ROTOR-BLADE.  THE ON-SITE INVESTIGATION OF THE GYROCOPTER DID NOT REVEAL ANY AIRCRAFT OR SYSTEM ANOMALY THAT WOULD HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO THIS ACCIDENT.  THE GYROCOPTER WAS DESTROYED IN A POST-IMPACT FIRE THAT ENSUED; THE AIRMAN, THE SOLE OCCUPANT ON-BOARD, SUSTAINED 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 CEN16LA266](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/CEN16LA266), Jul 16, 2016: Toevs Titanium Explorer (N556XT), Whitewater, KS, destroyed, 1 fatal. Probable cause: The loss of aircraft control for reasons that could not be determined because postaccident examination did not reveal any anomalies that would have precluded normal operation.

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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