- Date
- August 6, 2005, 12:00 local (17:00 UTC)
- Place
- Lawrenceburg, TN
- Injuries
- 1 serious
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Landing
- Aircraft
- N42923Therrien Roger Vortex
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report October 27, 2005
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- NASHVILLE FSDO
- FAA report
- 20050806017629A
- Case key
- 62414
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
The pilot's improper landing flair, which resulted in a hard landing.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The pilot was practicing taxiing the homebuilt gyrocopter and unintentionally took-off but decided to stay in flight. When the pilot was preparing to land he descended the gyrocopter steeply towards runway 35. The pilot pulled back on the "stick" to flare out, and stated that the gyrocopter did not respond. The aircraft nosed into the ground. Examination of the accident site revealed the gyrocopter laying on its left side. The main rotor mast was separated from its base, the forward and left main landing gear collapsed and the cockpit roof was detached. The pilot did not report any mechanical malfunctions with the gyrocopter prior to flight.
Factual narrative
The pilot was practicing taxiing the homebuilt gyrocopter and unintentionally took-off but decided to stay in flight. When the pilot was preparing to land he descended the gyrocopter steeply towards runway 35. The pilot pulled back on the "stick" to flare out, and stated that the gyrocopter did not respond. The aircraft nosed into the ground. Examination of the accident site revealed the gyrocopter laying on its left side. The main rotor mast was separated from its base, the forward and left main landing gear collapsed and the cockpit roof was detached. The pilot did not report any mechanical malfunctions with the gyrocopter prior to flight.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N42923
- Reported as
- Therrien Roger Vortex
- Category
- Gyroplane
- Serial number
- 066
- Airframe hours
- 0.25
- Engine
- Rotax 582, 67 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Roger N. Therrien Jr.
- Registered owner
- Roger Therrien
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · June 1, 2005 · 0 hours before
- Departed
- 2M2 · Lawrenceburg, TN
- Destination
- 2M2 · Lawrenceburg, TN
- Airport
- 2M2 · Lawrenceburg County Airport, runway 35, 5,003 × 100 ft, asphalt
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 48
- Injuries
- Serious
- Certificate
- Student
- Medical
- Class 3, With waivers/limitations
- Last flight review
- November 1, 2003
- Seat
- Single
- Flight hours
- 32 total · 12 in this make and model
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Wind
- 40° at 3 knots
- Visibility
- 5 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 90 °F, dew point 72 °F
- Altimeter
- 30.10 inHg
- Observed at
- MDQ
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.