20191012022399A

On October 12, 2019, gyroplane N498AG departed from a private ranch in hempstead, Texas at around 1450 CST in route to livingston, Texas. The pilot was flying with his wife. As they were approaching the lake conroe dam, his tablet blanked out. Since this was his form of navigation, he wanted to stop and figure out the problem. He remembered that there was a private airstrip straight ahead of him called merrimack. His plan was to land there and figure out the problem. He saw a field with a road in the orientation as shown on the map so he made the incorrect assumption that this was the private field. He landed and determined his tablet's battery was dead, so his wife and him decided to continue the trip using his cell phone and his wife would give him directions over the intercom. At around 1545 CST, as he was taking off, he quickly realized that he did not have enough room. He was taking off approximately to the northwest. They started climbing through an opening in the trees, but he realized that he was in another enclosed meadow and he did not feel like he would make it out through the trees. He then turned approximately south and continue to climb, however they quickly became entangled in the tops of some pine trees. The gyroplane then started to fall through the canopy, approximately 60 ft, and landed on its left hand side on the ground. His wife turned off the key to stop the fuel pumps. No post crash fire. Pilot suffered a fracture to his right hand. His wife had minor bruises only.